Information Desired and Acquired by Men with Prostate Cancer

Information and understanding are needed so that men with prostate cancer can effectively manage and cope with their disease. Although research has shown that cultural beliefs and practices influence the way people access health-related knowledge, little research has addressed how ethnicity affects the information desired and received among low-income men with prostate cancer. This research sought to (a) describe baseline knowledge at diagnosis, information subsequently received, information sources utilized, and knowledge believed to have been helpful and (b) explore differences in desired information among men of various ethnicities. Six ethnicity specific focus groups among men diagnosed with prostate cancer were conducted. With content analysis, themes emerging from each focus group were identified and compared. Results highlight disparities in the prostate cancer information desired and acquired by men of different ethnicities.