Abstract

Background: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men worldwide, including the UK with approximately 12,000 deaths each year. Black men are twice as likely to develop and die from prostate cancer than White men. Community-centred approaches can create culturally tailored interventions to address health inequalities. However, there is a gap in knowledge regarding community-centred approaches to tackling barriers to early diagnosis of prostate cancer for Black men in the UK, which this review aims to fill.

Methods: A database search from 2004 to 2024 was conducted of Medline, Web of Science, Embase, CINAHL and PsycINFO. Primary studies reporting community-centred approaches aimed at improving early diagnosis of prostate cancer in Black men were included. Two reviewers independently screened all database search hits against inclusion criteria, and data were extracted from the final included studies. Study quality was assessed via Covidence by two reviewers independently. Qualitative data were synthesised by grouping findings into four themes, based on level of community involvement.

Results
Of 345 studies, 22 met eligibility criteria. Although findings are preliminary, varying levels of community involvement were found in these studies. Some studies involved community members at the start of the intervention design (Theme 1), others requested feedback after intervention design (Theme 2). The delivery of intervention was by ‘trusted sources’ such as Black health professionals, or ‘trained’ religious leaders (Theme 3), while community-associated venues such as churches, barber shops or Black community centres were preferred location for the delivery (Theme 4). The aggregation of these themes improved cultural appropriateness, acceptability and increased knowledge of prostate cancer.

Conclusions:
The findings of this review suggest community-centred interventions have the potential to improve early diagnosis of prostate cancer in Black men via increased knowledge and improved decision making.

Key words: Prostate cancer, Black men, early diagnosis, community centred.