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Prostate Cancer Survivors as Community Health Educators: Implications for Informed Decision Making and Cancer Communication

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Abstract

Recent evidence questioning the effectiveness of prostate-specific antigen testing leave community-based prostate cancer (CaP) outreach programs with a dilemma between promoting screening and highlighting screening risks. CaP survivors are uniquely positioned to address this problem by drawing upon real-life experiences to share nuanced information and perspectives. While CaP survivors have historically been incorporated into outreach programs, little is known about their impact on psychosocial outcomes and their effectiveness compared to professional health educators. This study addressed these gaps through a quasi-experimental design where African American men attended a CaP screening session conducted by a health educator (HE) or survivor educator (SV). The presentation included prostate cancer statistics, CaP information, and descriptions of CaP screening tests. SV were encouraged to bolster their presentations with personal stories whereas HE maintained fidelity to the curriculum content. All participants completed pre- and post-test questionnaires. Our sample comprised a total of 63 participants (HE group = 32; SV group = 31) with an age range of 40–70 years. Decision self-efficacy increased significantly in the SV group (p = 0.01) whereas perceived screening risks reduced significantly in the HE group (p < 0.001). No significant changes were found in knowledge, subjective norms, outcome expectancies, and screening benefits. Survivor educators were found to have significantly greater appeal (p = 0.03), identification with audience (p = 0.01), and liking (p = 0.03). Training CaP survivors as health educators might be a viable strategy for community-based cancer communication efforts confronted by the CaP screening controversy. We discuss conceptual and programmatic implications of our findings and present directions for future research.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded through a supplemental grant from National Cancer Institute to the Program to Eliminate Cancer Disparities (PECAD), Siteman Cancer Institute, Washington University in St. Louis (#5 U01 CA114594-03). We thank our community partners, the cancer educators and all participants for contributing to this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nanyang Technological University, Center of Social Media Innovations for Communities (COSMIC), 14 Nanyang Drive, HSS-06-15, Singapore, 637332, Singapore

    Santosh Vijaykumar

  2. Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO, USA

    Ricardo J. Wray & Keri Jupka

  3. MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

    Ryan Clarke

  4. The Empowerment Network, Saint Louis, MO, USA

    Mellve Shahid

Authors
  1. Santosh Vijaykumar
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  2. Ricardo J. Wray
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  3. Keri Jupka
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  4. Ryan Clarke
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  5. Mellve Shahid
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Santosh Vijaykumar.

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Vijaykumar, S., Wray, R.J., Jupka, K. et al. Prostate Cancer Survivors as Community Health Educators: Implications for Informed Decision Making and Cancer Communication. J Canc Educ 28, 623–628 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-013-0559-9

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