Somali men’s workshop sheds light on barriers and opportunities for prostate cancer conversations

A recent community workshop brought together Somali men in Bristol to talk openly about prostate cancer – a topic which, for many, was associated with fear and uncertainty.

The event, held at the Easton Christian Family Centre on Tuesday 9 September 2025, ran from 6 -8pm. It was organised in collaboration with community partners CAAFI Health and funded through the Bristol Medical School under the University of Bristol Civic Connections award. The grant was secured under the leadership of Dr Julia Wade, Senior Lecturer in Qualitative Health Science, with PhD student Aiman Abbasi, Profs Athene Lane and Richard Martin, and Drs Emma Turner and Shoba Dawson as co-applicants and Caafi Health as a partner organisation.

It set out to raise awareness of prostate cancer, encourage conversations, and gather feedback to inform future research.

A similar workshop had taken place earlier in the year, with South Asian men in Bristol.

Creating a safe space

Ten men joined the workshop. It began with a talk from Professor Richard Martin, Associate Pro Vice Chancellor (Research & Innovation) and Professor of Clinical Epidemiology, who has specialist expertise in prostate cancer epidemiology. Participants were highly engaged throughout, supporting each other to overcome the language barrier to clarify what was said, asking questions and sharing reflections. A recurring theme was the association of cancer with death. One participant remarked simply: “cancer means death.”

This highlighted a gap in awareness about prognosis and management, and reinforced the importance of providing culturally and linguistically tailored information.

Insights from the community

Group discussions were facilitated by Zia Haque, Health Ambassador from CAAFI Health, who also played a central role in recruiting participants. Conversations focused on how prostate cancer could be discussed more openly within the Somali community.

The same three questions posed in a previous South Asian men’s workshop were used again, but this time participants gave more unanimous responses:

• How to make it easier to talk about prostate cancer?
  Participants agreed that family discussions and healthcare-led workshops would be valuable. Face-to-face conversations were seen as essential given the sensitivity of the subject, with a preference for smaller group discussions, as they make it easy for all the individuals involved to ask questions.
• Where should these conversations take place?
  Community venues and familiar spaces were identified as important settings, particularly when trusted facilitators are present.
• Who are trusted sources of information?
  Doctors and healthcare professionals were seen as the most credible voices, followed by the internet.

Hospitality and gratitude

To create a welcoming atmosphere, refreshments were provided, including tea and coffee, as well as a £5 voucher for Café Lilian, a popular nearby meeting place for the Somali community. In recognition of their contribution, each participant also received a £25 Tesco voucher as a token of thanks.

Looking ahead

The findings will inform the recruitment approach for a qualitative study forming part of a BRC-linked PhD led by University of Bristol student Aiman Abbasi. The PhD, supervised by Professor Athene Lane (lead supervisor), Dr Emma Turner, Dr Julia Wade and Professor Richard Martin, focuses on understanding how conversations about prostate cancer can be supported in the South Asian community, an ethnic minority in the UK.

The workshop ended with recognition of the need for culturally sensitive, community-led initiatives to challenge misconceptions, reduce fear, and build trust in healthcare systems.  Future workshops with this group will include interpreters to support discussions.