Distrust Of Health Care System May Keep Black Men Away From Prostate Cancer Research

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer for men in the U.S.(other than non-melanoma skin cancer) and one of the most deadly. It’s especially deadly for black men, who are more likely to get it and twice as likely as white men to die from it. Yet black men tend to be underrepresented in research for prostate cancer treatment.

A study published Wednesday in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine captured a snapshot of the attitudes black men have regarding prostate cancer research and the evolving field of genomic testing, finding significant mistrust of the healthcare system and medical research. It builds on earlier research that has documented that African-Americans are less likely to trust clinical research than white Americans.

Researchers interviewed 56 participants in seven focus groups between April, 2015, and April, 2017 to explore how black men think about participating in prostate cancer research and genomic testing. The researchers recruited focus group members in California, Minnesota, and Alabama through the meetings of 100 Black Men of America, an organization that provides educational and economic opportunities for African-Americans, and by word of mouth. All participants were over 18-years-old, and were either black men or the spouses of black men.