Contrasting costs of a prostate cancer educational program by race and educational method

Objective: To compare the cost-effectiveness of prostate cancer educational programs by African-American versus Caucasian men and educational methods. Method: Four different educational methods were tested with 868 men. Resul ts: The participation rate in the free screening was less for African-Ameri can (59%) than for Caucasian men (75%), leading to a greater cost per Afric an-American man screened. However, more African-American men had prostate c ancer than did Caucasian men, 6 (1.9%) versus 2 (0.8%), leading to lower co sts per prostate cancer detected for African-American men. Conclusion: Targ eting African-American men for prostate cancer educational programs is cost -effective and has the potential to significantly reduce prostate cancer mo rtality rates among African-American men.