According to statistics from the Department of Health, malignant tumor has been the top ten leading causes of death for more than 30 years and prostate cancer is the sixth highest in incidence rate and seventh in mortality rate for male cancers in Taiwan. Early detection is the key for treating cancer. The purpose of this study is to investigate factors related to participating in prostate cancer screening among community-dwelling adults aged 45 and over in central Taiwan.
The subjects of study were from participants of free prostate cancer screening activities were held in Oct and Dec 2007 and scheduled another 6 days to survey. Totally 208 questionnaires had been completed that included 107 participators and 101 non-participators of the free screening. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, one-way ANOVA and logistic regression. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the potential predictors of participating in a free screening, including demographics and four constructs of the health belief model.
The results of the study were as following:
(1)The average age of this sample of elders was 74. Most of them had religious belief, paid much attention to healthy status, had no job, not lived alone, knew purpose of prostate cancer screen, knew PSA test was a method of screen and knew PSA normal ranges.
(2)When asked why they participated in the free screening, the poster of screen advertising came first. Heard from relatives and friends was the second.
(3)The difference between perceived susceptibility, perceived severity and perceived benefits(p<.001) correlated with participating in prostate cancer screening.
(4)The majority of the participtors scored higher in healthy belief when compared to the non-participtors.
(5)Logistic regression models indicate that not lived alone, knew purpose of prostate cancer screen and perceived susceptibility were significant predictors of participating in prostate cancer screening.
The findings of the study will provide public health officials crucial information for developing future screening programs. In order to enhancing people’s motives to disease screening, this study suggests that prostate cancer screening can be covered by the national health program and using media to propagate the knowledge of prostate cancer and screening method are important strategies in promoting prostate cancer screening.
Key words：Prostate Cancer Screen, Health Belief Model
