An Exploration of Black Men’s Attitudes and Experiences Communicating with Dentists about Oral and Pharyngeal Cancer

Patrick D. Smith (), Darien J. Weatherspoon, Tiosha Bailey, Caryn E. Peterson, Marcus Murray, Osei Bekoe, Anuoluwapo Shadamoro, Nosayaba Osazuwa-Peters and Kimberly Nu-Tall
Additional contact information
Patrick D. Smith: College of Dentistry, University of Illinois Chicago, 801 S. Paulina St., Chicago, IL 60612, USA
Darien J. Weatherspoon: School of Dentistry, University of Maryland, 650 W. Baltimore St., Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
Tiosha Bailey: School of Public Health, University of Illinois Chicago, 1603 W. Taylor St., Chicago, IL 60612, USA
Caryn E. Peterson: School of Public Health, University of Illinois Chicago, 1603 W. Taylor St., Chicago, IL 60612, USA
Marcus Murray: Project Brotherhood, 1510 E. 55th Street, P.O. 15282, Chicago, IL 60615, USA
Osei Bekoe: University of Illinois Cancer Center, 818 S. Wolcott St., Chicago, IL 60612, USA
Anuoluwapo Shadamoro: College of Dentistry, University of Illinois Chicago, 801 S. Paulina St., Chicago, IL 60612, USA
Nosayaba Osazuwa-Peters: Department of Head & Neck Surgery & Communications Sciences, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
Kimberly Nu-Tall: University of Illinois Cancer Center, 818 S. Wolcott St., Chicago, IL 60612, USA

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 19, 1-8

Abstract: Background: Poor oral and pharyngeal cancer (OPC) survival among Black men is partially due to their limited knowledge about OPCs, which is exacerbated by dentists’ limited training and discomfort in discussing OPC risk factors. The purpose of this study was to assess the attitudes and experiences that Black men have communicating with dentists about OPCs. Methods: To qualitatively assess these attitudes and experiences, a focus group guide and recruitment strategy were developed using a community engagement approach. Data were analyzed using grounded theory. Results: Twenty-three self-identified Black men participated in three focus groups through the Zoom platform (mean age of 46.1 years). Four main themes emerged, which identified that participants: (1) had little knowledge of OPCs; (2) felt that addressing OPC risk among Black men was not a priority for dentists; (3) stressed the importance of dentists acknowledging the complexity of how race and gender affects Black men’s healthcare experiences; and (4) expressed a benefit to receiving information from multiple social networks. Conclusion: The focus groups provided context for how dentists might engage with Black men in discussions about OPC prevention and treatment.

Keywords: black men; oral health; health inequities; oral and pharyngeal cancers; patient–dentist communication (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/19/6859/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/19/6859/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:19:p:6859-:d:1250494

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().