Influence of gender on colorectal cancer knowledge, attitudes and intention to screen among African Americans

Introduction: There are gender differences among African Americans for colorectal cancer (CRC). Understanding why these differences exist facilitate developing effective, tailored health messages.

Methods: A convenience sample of African-American adults was recruited from a community health care center to participate in a cross-sectional survey on cancer screening behaviors. Participants answered questions about demographic characteristics, cancer knowledge, perceived risk, cancer worry and intention to screen for colorectal cancer (CRC). Analyses using univariate and bivariate methods were conducted to describe gender differences.

Results: A total of 336 participants completed the survey. The majority of participants were female (65%). There were differences in CRC knowledge between men (M=4.16, SD .78) and women (M=3.87, SD .93) with t(323)=2.84, p =.005. Almost half of the women (48.8 %, p=.009) thought men were more at risk for developing CRC. Women also feet less at risk for developing CRC than men (M=2.34, SD= .52 vs. M= 2.53, SD= .46) respectively at t(330)=3.29, p=.001. No differences for worry about having CRC (p=.191) or behavioral intention to screen were identified (p=.984). Finally, women disagreed more than men with the statements that their chance of developing CRC was high (66.7% vs. 40.5%, p<.001) and saw less likelihood to develop CRC compared to male respondents (75.7% vs. 55.8%, p=.001).

Conclusion: Women demonstrated less accurate information and lower perceived risk for developing CRC. Understanding that these differences by gender exist suggests that tailored messages are important to CRC screening and that they should be used more often to improve the effectiveness of screening programs.