Prostate Cancer Awareness Programme 2018

Name of the activity: Prostate Cancer Awareness Programme 2018

Country/NMO: India (MSAI)

Program: Healthy Lifestyles & Non-Communicable Diseases

Contact information: [email protected] +919821328152

Type of the activity: Education. Education on health issues for specific societal groups, either in the form of projects (set of tasks for a certain group over a fixed period of time), events (something notable that happens) or conferences (form meeting about ideas related to a particular topic, usually over several days).

General description:

Prostate Cancer Awareness Programme (BCAP) was launched in November 2018, parallel to another activity on Breast Cancer to raise awareness among men and women about cancers of sexual organs. The target population was any group of men likely to be affected by breast cancer in their lifetime. The event consisted of first, filling out a pre-event questionnaire by the men. Then, volunteers begin by talking about prostate (a lot of people don’t even know what it is), prostate cancer, how to detect it early and digital rectal exams (DRE). This was followed by a discussion with the men about getting past having regular digital rectal exams and about putting health over stigma. Then post-event questionnaire responses were collected to aid us in quantitative evaluation. We have had 14 such events across the country and have reached 235 men so far.

Focus area:

Cancer

Problem statement:

It is disheartening that approximately 4.04 mil years of healthy life are lost globally due to prostate cancer. In India, data regarding the true incidence of prostate cancer is limited mainly due to the fact that this entity is not a notifiable disease and there are only few population-based cancer registries in India. The lower incidence of prostate cancer in countries with good prostate cancer screening programmes highlights how early detection helps reduce the morbidity associated with it.

Target groups:

General population, Any group of men likely to be affected by prostate cancer in their lifetime such groups of teachers, in schools, peons in schools, hospital staff + class 3&4 male workers, men visiting hospitals, geriatric OPDs etc

Beneficiaries:

General population, The men attending the event as well as volunteers training for the event are benefited directly. Also benefited are any relatives/friends of the people participating in this event who might also hear about the importance of prostate cancer and DRE from the participants

Objectives and indicators of success:

Object (O): To educate men about prostate, prostate cancer, its diagnosis & prognosis, via interactive discussions

Indicator (I): More than 50% men have understood what a prostate is, what prostate cancer is and why it is important to screen for prostate cancer

O: To raise awareness about benefits of proper screening practices for prostate cancer, also via interactive discussions

I: More than 50% men have understood the importance of screening methods for prostate cancer

O: To erase the stigma of going to a doctor/clinic to have ones prostate examined via one-on-one discussions with men where they are made to feel comfortable enough to open up

I: More than 50% men know that it is important to have regular digital rectal examinations

O: To raise more empathetic future healthcare professionals through the process of them learning how to address the fears and concerns that a patient has and learning how to communicate with their patients better.

I: More than 50% men felt comfortable enough to open up and discuss prostate cancer in a positive and non-stigmatising manner

Methodology:

Event organisers brief the volunteers about the information to be disseminated to men. Then, the participants go to the men and talk to them individually or in small groups. Before and after talking to each man, volunteers ask them questions and fill up the pre and post event questionnaires that they have been provided with. Major focus of the discussion would be on how early detection improves the prognosis of prostate cancer. Volunteers especially work on discussing digital rectal examinations in a positive and non-stigmatising manner. The participants should make the men feel comfortable, answer their doubts, clear misconceptions they might have and encourage early detection methods.

Plans for evaluation:

We plan to conduct a quantitative evaluation of the responses of a simple pre and post event questionnaire that asks questions to be answered along the Likert scale. Apart from this, for self evaluation by the event organisers, we have pre and post event forms where they fill in their individual goals and objectives of the event, positive and negative aspects of the event, and other feedback for the National Team. Another qualitative evaluation done by volunteers is of the women’s knowledge of digital rectal examinationat the end of the sessions.