How WhatsApp can help with prostate cancer detection and diagnosis

Cardiff University researchers are examining how the use of WhatsApp can engage black men in Butetown and Grangetown with prostate cancer risk information and increase prostate cancer awareness.

New research funded by Cancer Research UK will fund a collaborative project at Cardiff University to examine the effectiveness of using WhatsApp as a tool for sharing cancer risk information among peers in the black community.

Dr Sarah Fry, Cardiff University School of Healthcare, said: “Black men have a high risk of prostate cancer, with a 1 in 4 risk of developing the disease and currently have low rates of diagnosis.

“We want to develop a sustainable way of increasing awareness of prostate cancer within these communities, which is essential for early detection and diagnosis.”

In partnership with two lay participant co-investigators in the African-Caribbean and Somali communities in Cardiff, researchers from Cardiff University’s School of Healthcare Sciences, School of Medicine and School of Computer Science and Informatics, will conduct a pilot study to test if using peer-led WhatsApp groups can improve awareness and potentially increase early detection and diagnosis amongst black men.

“We decided to use the WhatsApp platform for this project as my previous work, supported by Cardiff University Future Leaders in Cancer Research, has suggested that men in the black community would prefer to receive health information from friends in WhatsApp groups. In my work, I have found that African and African Caribbean communities have a culture of learning from each other.” added Dr Fry.

This research has developed from Dr Sarah Fry’s continued work with communities in Butetown and Grangetown.

Dr Sarah Fry was diagnosed with a brain tumour at 27 years old, which inspired her to start a career in cancer research and strive to ensure under-served communities feel they can access the same healthcare services she did. Through her work, Sarah relaunched the Butetown mile in 2013 to help engage the community with cancer research and increase awareness of prostate cancer risks and symptoms.

Dr Fry said: “In my previous role as a research nurse at the Velindre Cancer Centre, I noticed that, in my clinic, I wasn’t seeing any African or African-Caribbean men - a group that have a high risk of developing prostate cancer.

In this pilot project, the team will set up a research-specific WhatsApp groups that will be led by two lay co-applicates, who will invite 50 of their peers to take part. The researchers will assess WhatsApp’s accessibility and acceptability, as well as see how many men invited to the WhatsApp group go on to check their prostate cancer risk by using the Prostate Cancer UK prostate cancer risk checker..

In the future, this research will inform the development of a model outlining effective strategies for using WhatsApp as a cancer risk communication tool, as well the creation of a robust communication strategy to enhance public involvement and foster academic collaborations.

The research will be led by Dr Sarah Fry from the School of Healthcare Sciences. The research team will include Dr Nicholas Courtier from the School of Healthcare Sciences, Dr Harriet Quinn-Scoggins from the School of Medicine, and Dr Shancang Li and Dr Georgios Theodorakopoulos from the School of Computer Science and Informatics.