Knowledge and Practice of Prostate Cancer Screening among Healthcare Workers in Tertiary and Mission Hospitals in Southeastern Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Prostate cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in Nigerian men. Screening for prostate cancer is the cornerstone of early diagnosis of the disease and involves serum prostate-specific antigen assay and digital rectal examination. Healthcare workers remain a source of information to the general population on prostate cancer and its screening. Objectives: This study determined the knowledge and practice of screening for prostate cancer among healthcare workers. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study conducted among healthcare workers in two tertiary hospitals and two major mission hospitals in Anambra State. Data analysis was done by descriptive statistics. Results: The highest number of respondents was seen in the age group 20 29 years. Medical doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and medical laboratory scientists were each made up of 30(25%) respondents. One hundred and seventeen (97.5%) of the respondents had knowledge of prostate cancer. The most common source of information on prostate cancer among the respondents was a school (75.8%). One hundred and five (87.5%) of the respondents had knowledge of prostate cancer screening. Sixty-six (55.0%) of the respondents would recommend PSA assay from the age of 40 years, and 54 (45.0%) would recommend yearly PSA screening. Twelve (54.5%) of respondents whose ages were above the recommended cut-off age for screening have had prostate cancer screening using a PSA test. Conclusion: Despite the awareness and good knowledge of prostate cancer disease, the level of participation in prostate cancer screening by the respondents in the index study is quite low.