Breaking the ice: Prostate cancer advocacy and awareness programs in Nigeria and their role in changing men's health narratives

Prostate cancer (CaP) stands among the leading cancers responsible for male mortality worldwide. Statistics reveal that approximately 397,430 men across the globe have lost their lives to this disease in 2022. Research further confirms that CaP tends to be more aggressive in Black men coupled with late presentation, making it a major cause of death within this group. With this reality, it becomes paramount that advocacy and awareness efforts be intensified. The African Behavioural Research (ABeR) center set up three channels for CaP advocacy in order to increase awareness, knowledge and screening uptake. The first initiative was the CaP advocacy training program which was conducted using the Mayo Clinic Advocacy Training Manual. The training was specifically designed to equip men especially CaP survivors with skills for CaP advocacy. Seven (7) CaP survivors from across West Africa received training in the science of advocacy. Following this, they were supported with pilot grants to implement CaP awareness projects within their respective communities. The second initiative was the development and validation of a CaP awareness video among three hundred and twenty-two (322) men. This was translated into four (4) indigenous Nigerian languages. The third initiative was the creation of a platform to educate men aged 40years and above on the signs, symptoms, regular screening CaP (Nutrition Rx)Results from the CaP survivors pilot projects showed that 420 men were reached by three of the survivors and one hundred and seventy (170) men were screened for CaP. The CaP awareness video after validation, showed a significant increase in CaP knowledge (P=0.0001) among the participants( https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mE857ZHr7dUA97vtvmEmwxgzdQhnj3Ey/view?usp=sharing ). The translated video have been deployed for use at the urology clinic of the Federal Medical Center Abeokuta. The Nutrition Rx program has successfully reached over 2000 men across Nigeria and West Africa. The platform has been used to distribute healthy food items and also to educate men on prostate health. The advocacy initiatives by the center has proven to be effective in improving CaP knowledge and raise awareness on the importance of screen for early detection.