Reaching men to participate in a health screening program

INTRODUCTION: Prostate Cancer Awareness Week (PCAW) men's health screening program is one of the largest in the world and has been noted for its success on reaching men across ethic boundaries to participate. METHODS: We analyzed the national database of men who participated in the 2012 screening program looking specifically at age and race and how they learned of the program. RESULTS: 3906 men were analyzed based on age and how they heard of the screening program. For men 50 – 89yoa, newspaper (peaking at 35% of men aged 60-69yoa) served as the top method to reach them with word of mouth from family and friends being second. For younger men 30-49yoa, referrals from family and friends were the top method of gaining their participation. Further analysis shows that for both White and Black men, Radio and Internet were the least common ways to reach them. However, for Hispanic men between 50-79yoa, radio was an effective outreach tool. Program advertising methods included radio ads, newspaper, Internet, work environment outreach, outreach to women, and other (direct mail and local newsletter inclusion) methods were utilized. Total program participation includes 73% White, 20% Black, and 7% Hispanic population. CONCLUSIONS: Newspaper and print remain the top methods of garnering participation in a male screening program across age and racial groups. This is followed by direct referrals and direct mail outreach efforts. Surprisingly, few men participated due to information online and via radio outreach efforts. However, radio outreach was effective on reaching middle-aged Hispanic men.