Health Seeking Behaviour Among Men in Low-Income Settings Towards Prostate Cancer Screening Uptake, A Case Study of Mukuru Informal Setttlement, Nairobi-Kenya

ABSTRACT Background Prostate cancer screening is not a routine practice in Kenya despite of high morbidity and mortality associated with the disease. Most men seek medical attention when the disease is in an advanced stage resulting in a poor prognosis. Objective This study aimed to determine the health seeking behavior and the uptake of prostate cancer screening among men aged 30-64 years old in Mukuru informal settlement, Nairobi-Kenya. Methods The study deployed a descriptive cross-sectional utilizing both primary and secondary data. Primary data was collected through semi-structured questionnaires, key informant guides, and observation methods. Secondary data was obtained from existing facility health records, files and Ministry of Health (MoH) reporting tools for non-communicable diseases. Participants The sample size comprised 200 male respondents aged between 30-64 years old from Mukuru informal settlement in Nairobi. Results The study found that majority (80.5%) of respondents were married, had acquired formal form of education and most (50.5%) of them were self-employed while 30% were casual laborers. More than half (52.5%) resided close to a public healthcare facility and despite high (70%) awareness of prostate cancer (PCa), only a few (3.5%) reported having ever been screened for PCa. The respondents who reported being aware of the PCa screening method, whether it is manageable and known risk factors were found to be likely (p = 0.001, p = 0.002 and p = 0.001) respectively to have ever been screened for PCa. Additionally, qualitative data was collected to gain an in-depth understanding for low uptake of PCa screening. Conclusion Socio-demographic variable on education was associated with the uptake of PCa screening. The healthcare services and health-seeking behavior showed significant associations to both outcomes, “ever been screened” and willingness to be screened." Moreover, the findings from this study demonstrated that the unavailability of free PCa screening services in public healthcare facilities, insufficient information on PCa screening, Lack of knowledge on predisposing risk factors and poor health-seeking behavior among men in Mukuru informal settlement resulted in a deficient uptake of PCa screening. Recommendation Therefore, this study recommends for the local county government to partner with MoH in creating critical awareness on the importance of routine PCa screening practices by providing information resources and free screening services in order to have a well-informed population on screening benefits, harms and risks.