Ethnicity and the prostate cancer experience: a qualitative metasynthesis

Background:  Most qualitative studies exploring the impactof prostate cancer on men and their partners consider the dominant ethnicgroups in the USA, UK, Scandinavia and Australia, with generally concordantfindings.  Other ethnic groups are likelyto have different experiences.

Aims: To explorethe impact of prostate cancer and its treatment on men and their partners fromthe less studied ethnic groups.

Methods: Using meta-ethnographyand textual narrative we synthesised peer reviewed qualitative interview-based studiesdated 2000-2015 focused on less well reported ethnic groups, as a sub-synthesisof a comprehensive metasynthesis on the impact of prostate cancer.

Results: Twenty-twopapers (15 studies) covering 11 ethnic groups were analysed.  Nine studies considered black and minorityethnic groups in the UK and USA, with the remainder in Brazil, the PacificIslands, Israel, Turkey and Japan. We collected first and second order themesfrom the studies to develop conceptual third order themes with the following specificto the US and UK minority groups andPacific Islanders: A spiritual continuum: from the will of God to God ashelpmate; One more obstacle in the lifelong fight against adversity; Developingsensitive talk with a purpose (on disclosingthe cancer to informal networks in culturally appropriate ways). Themes from theother studies were similar to those in the overall metasynthesis.

Conclusions: Healthcare for prostate cancer should takeaccount of contextually and culturally specific coping mechanisms andpsychosocial factors in minority ethnic groups. More studies are needed indiverse ethnic groups.