Individual factors influencing uptake of benign prostate hyperplasia services among older men in Kenya

Background: Benign prostate hyperplasia is a reproductive health condition which refers to obstruction of the bladder neck due to an enlargement of the prostate as men ages. The symptoms are irritative and obstructive that cause urinary difficulties. Objective: The study aims to determine individual factors associated with uptake of benign prostate hyperplasia services among men above 40 years in Nyamira County, Kenya. Materials and methods: The study employed mixed method study design. The study utilized qualitative and quantitative research methods in order to obtain the required information from respondents. The researcher interviewed 387 respondents who were randomly selected from 18 villages of Nyamira south and Masaba wards. Descriptive data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. Inferential statistics such as Chi-Square tests at 95% confidence level was used to determine the association between studied variables. Results: Chi-square analysis revealed significant relationship between individual factors such as commonness of benign prostate hyperplasia condition (0.001), seriousness of condition (0.002), Knowledge of anyone suffering from the condition (0.01), knowledge of benign prostate hyperplasia screening services (0.021), screening preventing condition (0.001), Cost of screening (0.001), Income (0.002), Medical insurance (0.001) and uptake of benign prostate hyperplasia services. Results from focused group interviews were reported as direct quotes or narrations. Conclusion: The study concluded that there was low uptake of benign prostate hyperplasia services and that most of the individual factors were significantly associated with uptake of benign prostate hyperplasia services. This implies that a lot needs to be done by the stakeholders in sensitizing the men who at risk to know more about the prostate hyperplasia services and also scale up the services to reach the most vulnerable.