Prostate cancer screening uptake in Kenya: An analysis of the demographic and health survey

BACKGROUND

Prostate cancer (PCa) screening is a cost-effective strategy to promote early detection and treatment. Understanding the determinants of PCa screening uptake would help policy makers to identify high-risk populations and ensure the cost-effectiveness of health promotion interventions. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of PCa screening uptake and assess its associated factors among Kenyan men.

METHODS

The study relied on data from the 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey. Both descriptive and inferential analyses were performed. Firth logistic regression was employed using the "firthlogit" command in STATA. The adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval were presented.

RESULTS

Overall, the prevalence of PCa screening uptake was 4.4%. The odds of PCa screening uptake were high among men aged 50-54 [aOR= 2.08; CI= 1.23, 3.52], those who had health insurance coverage [aOR= 1.69; CI= 1.28, 2.23], those who read at least once in a week [aOR= 1.52; CI= 1.10, 2.10], and among those who watched TV at least once in a week [aOR= 1.73; CI= 1.18, 2.52]. Men who resided in the Eastern [aOR= 2.23; CI= 1.39, 3.60], Nyanza [aOR= 2.13; CI= 1.29, 3.53], and Nairobi [aOR= 1.97; CI= 1.01, 3.86] had a higher likelihood of getting screened for PCa.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the uptake of PCa screening in Kenya is low. To ensure the cost-effectiveness of health-promoting interventions that aim to improve PCa screening uptake in Kenya, men without health insurance coverage should be targeted and prioritized. Increasing literacy rate, sensitization via television, and increasing the insurance coverage in the country would significantly contribute to a higher uptake of PCa screening.

POLICY SUMMARY

To improve the uptake of PCa screening, there would be a need to implement a national advocacy campaign that will sensitize Kenyan men about the need to undergo PCa screening. This national advocacy campaign to increase the uptake of PCa screening in Kenya must leverage mass media platforms.

Population-Level Patterns of Prostate Cancer Occurrence: Disparities in Virginia

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among men in the United States. In Virginia, which is a representative, ethnically diverse state of more than 8 million people that was established nearly 400 years ago, prostate cancer has the highest rate of new detection for any type of cancer. All men are at risk of developing prostate cancer regardless of demographics, but some men have an increased mortality risk due to cancer metastasis. Notably, one in five African American men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime and they have the highest prostate cancer mortality rate of any ethnic group in the United States, including Virginia. A person's genetic profile and family history are important biological determinants of prostate cancer risk, but modifiable environmental factors (e.g., pollution) appear to be correlated with patterns of disease prevalence and risk. In this review, we examine current perspectives on population-level spatial patterns of prostate cancer in Virginia. For context, recent, publicly available data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are highlighted and presented in spatial format. In addition, we explore possible co-morbidities of prostate cancer that may have demographic underpinnings highlighted in recent health disparity studies.

State-level political partisanship strongly correlates with health outcomes for US children

The Cook Partisan Voting Index (PVI) determines how strongly a state leans toward the Democratic or Republican Party in US presidential elections compared to the nation. We set out to determine the correlation between childhood health outcomes and state-level partisanship using PVI. Sixteen measures of childhood health were obtained from several US governmental agencies for 2003-2017. The median PVI for every state was calculated for the same time period. Pearson's rho determined the correlation between PVI and each health outcome. Multiple regression was also conducted, adjusting for educational attainment and percentage of non-White residents. We also compared childhood health in moderately Democratic and Republican states (5-9.9% more Democratic/Republican than the national mean) and, similarly, for extremely Democratic and Republican states (10% or more Democratic/Republican than the national mean), using Wilcoxon tests. For all 16 health measures, the median values in Democratic-leaning states represented better outcomes than Republican-leaning states (9/16 had a beta value for linear regression associated with P < 0.05). When compared to Republican states, the median values in moderately Democratic states represented better outcomes for 14 of 16 health measures (9/14 associated with P < 0.05). Similarly, the median values for extremely Democratic states represented better outcomes with regard to all 16 health measures, when compared to Republican-leaning states (8/16 associated with P < 0.05).Conclusions: Democratic-leaning states displayed superior outcomes for multiple childhood health measures when compared to Republican counterpart states. Future research should investigate the significance of these findings and attempt to determine which state-level policies may have contributed to such disparate health outcomes. What is Known: • In the United States, many health disparities exist among children along racial, economic and geographic lines. • Many US states lean strongly towards either the Democratic or Republican political parties in federal elections. What is New: • Trends for multiple measures of childhood health vary in association with the political partisanship of the state being examined. • Multiple barometers of childhood health are superior in Democratic-leaning states, while no measures are better in Republican-leaning states.

Disparities in Healthcare Services and Spatial Assessments of Mobile Health Clinics in the Border Regions of Thailand

Reducing the disparities in healthcare access is one of the important goals in healthcare services and is significant for national health. However, measuring the complexity of access in truly underserved areas is the critical step in designing and implementing healthcare policy to improve those services and to provide additional support. Even though there are methods and tools for modeling healthcare accessibility, the context of data is challenging to interpret at the local level for targeted program implementation due to its complexity. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop a concise and context-specific methodology for assessing disparities for a remote province in Thailand to assist in the development and expansion of the efficient use of additional mobile health clinics. We applied the geographic information system (GIS) methodology with the travel time-based approach to visualize and analyze the concealed information of spatial data in the finer analysis resolution of the study area, which was located in the border region of the country, Ubon Ratchathani, to identify the regional differences in healthcare allocation. Our results highlight the significantly inadequate level of accessibility to healthcare services in the regions. We found that over 253,000 of the population lived more than half an hour away from a hospital. Moreover, the relationships of the vulnerable residents and underserved regions across the province are underlined in the study and substantially discussed in terms of expansion of mobile health delivery to embrace the barrier of travel duration to reach healthcare facilities. Accordingly, this research study addresses regional disparities and provides valuable references for governmental authorities and health planners in healthcare strategy design and intervention to minimize the inequalities in healthcare services.

Disparities in Prostate Cancer Survival According to Neighborhood Archetypes, A Population-Based Study

OBJECTIVES

To examine survival among men with prostate cancer according to neighborhood archetypes. As an advancement beyond measures of neighborhood socioeconomic status (nSES) or specific measures of the neighborhood environment, archetypes consider interactions among many social and built environment attributes.

METHODS

Neighborhood archetypes for California census tracts in the year 2000 were previously developed through latent class analysis of 39 measures of social and built environment attributes. We assessed associations between archetypes and overall and prostate cancer-specific survival in this population-based study using geocoded cancer registry data for prostate cancer patients diagnosed 1996-2005 in California, followed through 2017 (n = 185,613). We used Cox proportional hazard models stratified by race/ethnicity and adjusted for age at diagnosis, year of diagnosis, tumor factors, treatment, marital status and cluster effect by census tract. Additional analyses examined associations between race/ethnicity and survival, while accounting for neighborhood archetypes.

RESULTS

We observed disparities in overall and prostate cancer-specific risk of death by neighborhood archetypes. Classes with the highest risk of death were defined by lower nSES, but also other domains such as rural/urban status, racial/ethnic composition or age of residents, commuting and traffic patterns, residential mobility, and food environment. Associations between archetypes and survival varied by race/ethnicity.

CONCLUSION

We observe interactions among several domains of neighborhood social and built environment attributes as demonstrated by the associations between neighborhood archetypes and prostate cancer survival. These results highlight opportunities for multilevel neighborhood interventions to reduce neighborhood disparities in prostate cancer survival.

The Association of Increasing Hospice Use With Decreasing Hospital Mortality: An Analysis of the National Inpatient Sample

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Usage of hospice services for patients facing life-limiting illness has steadily increased. In these services, hospitals discharge patients to various hospice settings, including the inpatient model, where a patient may remain in the discharging hospital to receive hospice services. In this discharge practice, the patient is considered a hospital survivor and subsequent hospice death. The purpose of the study was to determine if the decline of in-hospital mortality for six common high-volume admission diagnoses could be attributed in part to an increase in discharges to a hospice setting for end-of-life care. In this retrospective study using the National Inpatient Sample database from 2007 to 2011, we identified patients ≥18 years for six acute and chronic diagnoses: heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, acute myocardial infarction, acute myocardial infarction with cardiogenic shock, septic shock, and lung neoplasm (cancer). We categorized patients according to their hospital discharge disposition as hospice or in-hospital mortality. A total of 10,458,728 patients met our criteria, of which 2.72% were discharged to hospice and 6.38% died. Compared to patients who died in the hospital, hospice patients were older, had a shorter length of stay, and experienced more comorbidities. Hospice use was more common in Medicare patients, in nonteaching hospitals, and in the South. White individuals were more likely to be discharged to hospice compared to nonwhites. Among the six selected diagnoses over the 5-year period, hospice use rose as observed mortality decreased. Our findings suggest that variability among hospitals in hospice use will affect benchmarked hospital mortality comparisons and could inappropriately reward or penalize hospitals in their public reporting.

Geographical Variations in Prostate Cancer Outcomes: A Systematic Review of International Evidence

Background: Previous reviews of geographical disparities in the prostate cancer continuum from diagnosis to mortality have identified a consistent pattern of poorer outcomes with increasing residential disadvantage and for rural residents. However, there are no contemporary, systematic reviews summarizing the latest available evidence. Our objective was to systematically review the published international evidence for geographical variations in prostate cancer indicators by residential rurality and disadvantage.

Methods: Systematic searches of peer-reviewed articles in English published from 1/1/1998 to 30/06/2018 using PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Informit databases. Inclusion criteria were: population was adult prostate cancer patients; outcome measure was PSA testing, prostate cancer incidence, stage at diagnosis, access to and use of services, survival, and prostate cancer mortality with quantitative results by residential rurality and/or disadvantage. Studies were critically appraised using a modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.

Results: Overall 169 studies met the inclusion criteria. Around 50% were assessed as high quality and 50% moderate. Men from disadvantaged areas had consistently lower prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing and prostate cancer incidence, poorer survival, more advanced disease and a trend toward higher mortality. Although less consistent, predominant patterns by rurality were lower PSA testing, prostate cancer incidence and survival, but higher stage disease and mortality among rural men. Both geographical measures were associated with variations in access and use of prostate cancer-related services for low to high risk disease.

Conclusions: This review found substantial evidence that prostate cancer indicators varied by residential location across diverse populations and geographies. While wide variations in study design limited comparisons across studies, our review indicated that internationally, men living in disadvantaged areas, and to a lesser extent more rural areas, face a greater prostate cancer burden. This review highlights the need for a better understanding of the complex social, environmental, and behavioral reasons for these variations, recognizing that, while important, geographical access is not the only issue. Implementing research strategies to help identify these processes and to better understand the central role of disadvantage to variations in health outcome are crucial to inform the development of evidence-based targeted interventions.

A pilot study of prostate cancer knowledge among African American men and their health care advocates: implications for screening decisions

PURPOSE

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of cancer death in U.S. men [American Cancer Society (ACS)], most often affecting men age 50 and older. The study provides information about factors that influence rural AA men in their decision to undergo screening for PCa with a specific focus on PCa knowledge among AA men and their health care advocates.

METHODS

A longitudinal quantitative study included AA males and their health care advocates. Participants were from three Alabama rural counties. Measures included demographics, PCa knowledge, decisional conflict, and health literacy scales.

RESULTS

Thirty-three men with a mean age of 54.61 and 35 health care advocates were included in the study. PROCASE Knowledge Index measure results indicate a lack of PCa knowledge among both male primary participants and their advocates. The knowledge of AA men in the study was somewhat low, with individuals correctly answering approximately six questions out of ten at multiple time points (baseline total M = 6.42, SD = 1.52). Decisional conflict responses at 12 months (38.64) were lower than at baseline (M = 62.88) and at 6 months (M = 58.33), p < .005.

CONCLUSION

Health care advocates of the 33 male participants were usually women, spouses, or significant others, supporting the vital role women play in men's health specifically in rural underserved communities. Low overall PCa knowledge, including their risk for PCa, among these participants indicates a need for PCa and screening educational interventions and dialogue that include males and their significant others.

Metastatic renal cell carcinoma: Patterns and predictors of metastases-A contemporary population-based series

OBJECTIVE

To assess the patterns and predictors of metastatic disease in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) at the time of diagnosis in a contemporary series.

METHODS

The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database was queried for all patients with kidney RCC from 2010 to 2013 (N = 50,815). Distribution and predictors of distant metastases at diagnosis were assessed. Multivariate logistic regression hazard analyses were performed to determine covariates associated with the likelihood of having metastases at diagnosis, whereas competing risks regression analysis was used to assess predictors of cancer-specific mortality (CSM) in patients with metastatic disease.

RESULTS

Lung (7.73%) and bone (5.17%) metastases were the most common. The strongest predictors of metastatic disease were disease-specific factors, such as clinical T-stage (cT4 vs. cT1; odds ratio = 43.08; P<0.01) and higher Fuhrman grade (FG4 vs. FG1; odds ratio = 5.09; P<0.01). Papillary RCC and chromophobe RCC were associated with localized disease at the time of diagnosis. For CSM, the presence of brain and liver metastases were associated with worse CSM than lung or bone metastases. Although patient factors did not contribute to the presence of metastases at diagnosis, lower socioeconomic status and being widowed/divorced predicted worse CSM.

CONCLUSION

Understanding the distribution of distant metastases and associated CSM is important to counseling patients with newly diagnosed metastatic RCC. Although pathologic factors drive the presence of metastases at diagnosis, health care deficits in treatment remain.