Purpose/objectives: To explore the relationship between attitudes toward digital rectal examination (DRE) and participation in prostate cancer screening among African American men.
Design: Survey.
Setting: Prostate cancer screenings with a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test held at churches with African American members in Detroit, MI.
Sample: 613 African American men between the ages of 40 and 70.
Methods: Self-administered, structured questionnaires examining attitudes toward DRE, past experiences with DRE, and fear of cancer.
Main outcome measures: Willingness to undergo DRE.
Findings: The majority of men who were screened had positive attitudes about DRE. Fear of cancer was associated with negative attitudes toward DRE. DREs were not a deterrent among men who attended the screenings.
Conclusion: Negative attitudes toward DRE do not necessarily deter African American men from participating in prostate cancer screenings.
Implications for nursing practice: Prostate cancer screening programs should attempt to use both DRE and PSA. More reliable prostate cancer indicators are obtained by incorporating DRE with PSA tests.