Abstract A063: Determining barriers to dietary change among medically underserved men with prostate cancer

Prostate cancer (PCa) disproportionately affects Black men and men of low socioeconomic status, who are more likely to experience higher incidence, disease progression and mortality. Despite increased disease aggression, cardiovascular disease remains a leading cause of death among men with localized disease. Therefore lifestyle interventions, particularly diet-based, provide an opportunity to drastically improve outcomes. While potentially beneficial, little is known about how underserved men with PCa and their families perceive barriers to dietary change and their willingness to undergo behavioral interventions. This includes changes to dietary patterns, such as the Mediterranean diet (MD), which is established as cardioprotective. This qualitative study explored dietary knowledge, cultural influences, and willingness to participate in dietary change interventions among Black and Hispanic men diagnosed with localized PCa at a county hospital. Three focus groups were conducted in English and three in Spanish with 31 total participants (men and their partners) recruited from a safety-net county hospital. Thematic analysis was guided by the Health Belief Model and Theory of Planned Behavior. Four themes emerged: (1) attitudes toward healthy diet and physician advice; (2) the positive (and negative) influence of family, friends, and culture; (3) the emotional and spiritual influences on dietary behavior; and (4) structural barriers and their impact on self-efficacy. Findings underscore the critical role of support and buy-in from family members, the importance of education and instruction, and the importance of maintaining space for emotion and spirituality. This study adds to the limited literature on culturally informed diet interventions in cancer treatment. Results support the development of partner-engaged, culturally tailored dietary interventions to improve the health of medically underserved populations with PCa. Citation Format: Matthew T. Smith, Rebekka S. Garcia, Dalnim Cho, Marialeska Tariba-Edick, Tarek I. Lawen, Carrie Daniel-MacDougall, Lorna McNeill, Curtis Pettaway, Justin R. Gregg. Determining barriers to dietary change among medically underserved men with prostate cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 18th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities; 2025 Sep 18-21; Baltimore, MD. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2025;34(9 Suppl):Abstract nr A063.