Multilevel prostate cancer prevention social marketing and outreach campaign in African American men

A57 Background The GW Cancer Institute has initiated a prostate cancer screening program in the Washington, DC metropolitan area that uses social marketing and tri-fold outreach initiatives that encourages women to encourage their male counterparts into early detection screenings. The social marketing methodology was used for product and message development. The PRECEDE-PROCEED model was used to develop the planning, implementation, and evaluation processes in the outreach program. A study was conducted to assess the most effective way to increase the number of African American men screened for prostate cancer in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Methods A quasi-experimental study design was used to compare marketing outlets used to encourage men from specific ethnic groups to participate in the GW Cancer Institute prostate cancer screening program. A total of 333 men were interviewed. Racial and ethnic participation were measured, the number of people who were informed about the program through each media source was measured, including the racial and ethnic participation breakdown for each media source. The grassroots outreach program used PRECEDE-PROCEED to determine the social and health determinants that prevent men from screening for prostate cancer. This information was used to develop outreach initiatives, the Congregational, Workplace, and Neighborhood Cancer Wellness Initiatives. This community program centered around these social networks in order to effectively educate men about prostate cancer prevention and early detection and screen men for prostate cancer. Results Data from the study showed that of the 333 men screened for prostate cancer at the GW Urology Department, 66% of these men were African American, 30% were Caucasian, 4% were Hispanic, 2% were Asian, and 2% were Native American. Thirty percent of the men heard about the screening through television, 26% of the men were informed about the screening from word of mouth through family, friends, or other means, 4% were informed through GW mailings, 21% from newspapers, 14% were informed through the radio, and 5% were informed from a web source. Of the three highest represented ethnic groups and the three most frequently used media sources: 39% of African Americans responded because of the television advertisements, 32% of Caucasians responded to newspaper advertisements that announced the free screening programs, and 27% of Hispanics responded to radio advertisements. In the past year, the outreach initiative has allowed the GW Cancer Institute to work with 36 churches; 6 worksites; 3 fraternal organizations; 6 African American barbershops; 16 community-based organizations; the DC Department of Health; co-hosted one focus group with the South-Atlantic Chapter of the American Cancer Society with prostate cancer outreach workers, to encourage over 980 residents from minority populations to understand the importance of cancer prevention and screen 89 African American men for prostate cancer through community-based screenings in Washington, DC. Conclusions By tailoring social marketing messages and grassroots outreach programs around African American women encouraging their male counterparts to screen for prostate cancer, African American men will conduct early detection practices for prostate cancer at a higher rate than other ethnic groups.