• Nicholas Shungu and Katherine R Sterba.
• From the Department of Family Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC (NS); Department of Public Health Sciences and Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC (KRS). shungu@musc.edu.
• J Am Board Fam Med. 2021 Sep 1; 34 (5): 925-936.

BackgroundBlack men are disproportionately impacted by prostate cancer (PrCa). Current guidelines recommend that all men make informed decisions about whether to be screened for PrCa. Little is known about the barriers and facilitators of informed decision-making (IDM) about PrCa screening in Black men.MethodsWe conducted focus groups with a convenience sample of Black men aged 55 to 69 years from a primary care practice (n = 21). Template analysis was used to evaluate themes related to barriers and facilitators of IDM about PrCa screening.ResultsIDM was impacted by external factors, intrinsic factors, and personal beliefs about PrCa screening. Family, friends, and clinicians played a paramount role in shaping attitudes about PrCa screening. Distrust of the medical community impaired IDM, and lack of clinician communication about PrCa screening further engendered mistrust. Participants felt they lacked adequate knowledge to make an informed decision about PrCa screening. Identified areas to promote IDM included education on racial disparities, education that screening is a personal choice, and differentiating PrCa screening from colon cancer screening.ConclusionsOur results indicate that Black men may lack the prerequisite information to make informed decisions about PrCa screening, which is notable in light of known PrCa racial disparities. Clinicians can play an important role in facilitating IDM through fostering discussions about the benefits and risks of PrCa screening and educating Black men about racial disparities.© Copyright 2021 by the American Board of Family Medicine.

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