Theater as an educational tool in prostate cancer awareness

African American men have the leading number of incident reports among all men with prostate cancer. The American Cancer Society (2007) estimated that there were 152,900 new cancer cases among African Americans. The fact that 37% of African American Males are being diagnosed with prostate cancer, and the fact that 13% of African American males are estimated to die, is detrimental to the longevity of the African American community; thus, more research is needed. The current study examined the effectiveness of theater in comparison to standard workshop/lecture in educating African American Males about prostate cancer. Employing a retrospective/pre-post test design, 127 men were recruited for theater and standard workshop/lectures. Utilizing paired-sample t-test, and independent t-test, researchers assessed the effectiveness of theater in increasing participants' knowledge and awareness about prostate cancer in comparison to standard workshop/lecture. Results of the study indicated that there were statistically significant increases in knowledge for playgoers before and after the play. Participants also, reported statistically significant increases in the likelihood of engaging in healthy pro-social prostate related behaviors. In addition, results of the study indicated that the increase in knowledge for participants in the standard workshop/lecture was greater than the increase in knowledge for participants in that of theater. Thus for men, standard workshop/lecture proved to be more effective in educating African American men about prostate cancer. The findings suggest that further research will be needed to identify more innovative educational tools to increase knowledge and alter health related behaviors.