This is how Movember is helping close equity gaps in prostate cancer care

$4.9 million invested into 18 grants

Where you were born. How much money you make. Your ethnicity, race and gender. These, and other factors, shape the cancer care you receive. But today, on World Cancer Day, Movember pushes back. By investing $4.9 million (CAD), over three years, in 18 grants to create more equitable prostate cancer care.

The grants are spread across five countries – six in Canada, five in the United Kingdom (co-funded by Prostate Cancer UK), three in Australia, three in the United States and one in Ireland – each having a specific focus population and care area.

Equity gap? What's that?

The equity gap is made up of factors that can negatively impact a person’s chance at quality healthcare. In prostate cancer care, that includes but isn’t limited to: income, education, location, ethnicity, race, gender and sexual orientation. These factors are unfair and unjust, resulting from systemic issues such as discrimination, policies and social structures.

Who will the grants help?

Who you are and where you live dictates the quality of care you receive. These grants aim to change that, by making prostate cancer care more equitable. Kris Bennet, Director of Prostate Cancer Health Equity at Movember shares who the grants will help: “We’re living in a time of amazing advancements in cancer prevention, diagnosis, and care. Though, the reality is that who you are and where you live dictates the quality of care you receive. To address these inequities, head on, each grant funded by Movember will focus on one or more key populations that are culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD), rural and remote, LGBTQIA+, First Nations and Indigenous, Black and Caribbean men or people of low socio-economic status.”

What will the grants do exactly?

Canadian recipients:

• A study found Indigenous men had more aggressive tumour characteristics compared to non-Indigenous men yet were half as likely to be screened for prostate cancer. The University of Alberta’s grant will address this equity gap by focusing on lifting education, awareness and screenings in rural, Indigenous communities.
• The support around a patient with prostate cancer makes a huge difference in their lived experience. Dalhousie University’s grant will help to build those empowering networks, particularly within Black, rural and Indigenous, LGBTQIA+ people.
• Funds granted to The Walnut Foundation will strengthen health literacy and help seeking behaviours within Canada’s Black communities by developing culturally diverse educational materials. Many methods including conferences, presentations and social media will be used to deliver the material to targeted communities.

Australian recipients:

• The prostate cancer mortality rate in remote areas is almost 20% higher than in major cities. Access to treatment is the leading cause. This equity gap is what the Royal Flying Doctors Service of Australia’s grant will address, to improve access to and use of prostate cancer treatment services in rural and remote areas.
• Currently, prostate cancer data on the culturally and linguistically diverse communities of South-Western Sydney is insufficient. That’s the first roadblock to improving this historically overlooked group’s prostate cancer care. The George Institute for Global Health aims to fill in the blanks with population level data to help close this equity gap.
• Australian Prostate Centre will create culturally appropriate prostate cancer services and practices for the LGBTQIA+ community, to counter the fear of discrimination and stigma that often stands in its way of getting prostate cancer screenings and diagnoses.

US recipients:

• Black men, compared to non-Hispanic White men, face greater stress and lower wellbeing after prostate cancer treatment. The University of Texas will create culturally sensitive programs, co-designed with Black men and organizations, to alleviate this inequity.

UK recipients:

• Newly diagnosed men living in deprived areas struggle to access information on prostate cancer treatments and side effects, resulting in greater uncertainty, and even regret, post-treatment. Speaking to another man who’s gone through it helps. Tackle Prostate Cancer will pilot a peer coaching service to help men and caregivers make informed decisions about their treatment options.

Ireland recipient:

• In Ireland, men 65+ make up nearly 2 in every 3 prostate cancer diagnoses; and men with prostate cancer from rural populations have higher proportions of later-stage cancers. The University Hospital of Limerick’s grant will gather prostate cancer experiences of men 60+ living in rural areas in Midwest Ireland. Their findings combined with existing research will create solutions to address patient’s unmet needs in prostate cancer care.

Were grants reviewed and approved with community involvement?

Movember recognizes that centring the voices of those closest to the challenges being addressed is essential to advancing health equity. Community voices provide invaluable insights into the barriers, opportunities, and unmet needs within their populations—insights that are often overlooked without intentional engagement.

To ensure the grant recipients reflected the unique needs and priorities of local communities, review panels were held in each participating country (Australia, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom). These panels brought together diverse perspectives, including those of Movember community members with lived experience, health equity advocates, and subject matter experts.

This approach not only strengthens the impact of our funding but also ensures our initiatives align with the lived realities and priorities of the communities we serve.

More grants coming soon

Keep an eye out for future announcements.