An Evaluation of Men’s Beliefs and Perceptions and Affecting Factors on Prostate Cancer Screenings with the Health Belief Model

Abstract

Objective: People’s beliefs and perceptions affect their health behaviors. Participation in screening for early diagnosis of prostate cancer is done with the individual’s decision in line with the physician’s recommendation. This study aimed to evaluate individuals’ health beliefs and perception levels about prostate cancer screening, one of the most common cancers in men.

Methods: The cross-sectional study included 100 male participants aged 35 and over who applied to the family medicine outpatient clinic between November 2020-January 2021. The personal information form prepared by the researchers and the Prostate Cancer Screening Health Belief Model Scale was administered to the volunteer participants through a face-to-face survey method. While the obtained data were evaluated statistically, they were analyzed using the SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) program.

Results: The mean age of the study participants was 45.28±7.34 (35-65) years. 22% of the participants had a prostate examination before, and only 4.0% participated in prostate cancer screening. According to the Health Belief Model, sensitivity (11.85±3.35), severity (13.17±3.39), and barrier perception (37.03±8.63) towards prostate cancer screenings were moderate. In contrast, health motivation (33.74±6.43) and perceived benefit (37.03±8.63) were high. Sensitivity perception, health motivation perception, and benefit perception were high in participants considering participating in prostate cancer screening in the future. According to the logistic regression analysis, the most critical variable affecting the prostate cancer screening status was the perception of health motivation.

Conclusion: The study found that the participation of individuals in prostate cancer screenings was low, and their perception of health motivation and benefit was important in participating in screenings.