The Ghana Armed Force is under the Ministry of Defense. The study used Burma Camp-Accra as a case. Burma Camp is a Military camp named after the Burma war. It is within the La Sub-Metropolis which covers Teshie, Lamansaamokpe and La in the Accra Metropolis, Ghana’s capital. Most of the Ghana Armed Force units in Accra are found in and around Burma Camp. The force has three major divisions, namely the Ghana Navy, Ghana Army and Ghana Air Force. GAF is dominated by males, accounting for about 98% of the total force.
Descriptive cross-sectional survey design was adopted. Male soldiers living in Burma Camp were the target population for the study. The camp has about five hundred (500) male soldiers, both active and reserved. Simple random sampling technique was employed to select respondents. Male soldiers who showed interest of participation were asked to draw from a box containing folded pieces of paper with ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ inscription. The picking of a ‘Yes’ or a ‘No’ was only based on chance; therefore, the researcher did not have any influence in the selection of the respondents. The sample size was determined using OpenEpi Info software (Open Source Epidemiologic Statistics for Public Health) version 3.01, developed by Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. The software calculates sample size using the design effect, population size, estimated proportion and desired absolute precision. The sample size for this study was determined using a design effect of 1 and an estimated proportion of 50% which is the default percentage when the researcher is not sure of the exact percentage of the population that will respond to the outcome variable, and desired absolute precision of 5%. The calculated sample size was 218 male soldiers, but the data collector was able to administered 140 questionnaires due to reluctance of soldiers to participate. This is equivalent to 64% response rate.
Formula for calculating sample size
$$n = {\text{deff}} \times \frac{Npq}{{\frac{{d^{2} }}{{1.96^{2} }}\left( {N - 1} \right) + pq}}$$
n = sample size, deff = design effect, N = population size, p = estimated proportion, q = 1 − p, d = desired absolute precision/absolute level of precision.
A structured questionnaire was administered to 140 male soldiers. The questionnaire was designed in English language and categorized into three main sections. Section one covered bio-data (i.e., age, education etc.) of respondents. Section two contained items assessing soldiers’ awareness (i.e., Have you heard of prostate cancer before?) and knowledge about PC (i.e., prostate cancer is sexually transmitted) on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree. Section three contained items related to soldiers’ attitudes (i.e., screening can help in early detection of the prostate cancer) and intentions (i.e., I have intentions of screening for PC) toward early detection of PC all on a five-point Likert scale. The questionnaire was piloted and modified with the assistance of a senior researcher.
Consent of respondents was taken before commencing with data collection. Participants were assured of privacy and confidentiality, and the identities of respondents were not taken. Participation was purely voluntary, and no respondent was coerced or lured to participate. The questionnaires were destroyed after entering the data, and information was deleted from the computer and data storage devices after the final report.
Data were analyzed with the aid of Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 22.0. The questionnaire was coded, and data were entered into the analytical software (SPSS) version 22.0. Data cleaning was done, and inconsistencies for wrong input scores were rectified before carrying out the main analysis. Univariate and bivariate analyses were carried out, and results were presented using frequency tables, bar charts and cross-tabulation.