Culturally Responsive Health Promotion to Address Health Disparities in African American Men

A Program Impact Evaluation

Bibliographic Data

ID21748720
AuthorsO N Okoro (0000-0002-1598-4415, University of Minnesota, Duluth, corresponding author), Chantele S Nelson (0000-0003-4899-5185, University of Minnesota, Duluth), Stephan P Witherspoon (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), Salaam F Witherspoon (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), Glenn Simmons (0000-0003-2081-5672, University of Minnesota, Duluth)
Year2020
Volume14
Issue4
Pages1557988320951321-1557988320951321
Publication date2020-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Men s Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1557-9883 • E-ISSN: 1557-9891
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1557988320951321
PMID32840146
OpenAlexW3080391601
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited49

African American (AA) men continue to experience worse health outcomes compared to men of other races/ethnicities. Community-based interventions are known to be effective in health promotion and disease prevention. The program objectives were to (a) increase knowledge and risk awareness of targeted conditions, (b) change health-care-seeking attitudes toward regular primary care among AA men, and (c) improve their lifestyle-related health behaviors by leveraging the influence of women in their lives. The community-engaged educational intervention targeted both men and women and included eight 90-min sessions per cohort. Topics included prostate cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, mental health, health-care access, and healthy lifestyle. Sessions were both didactic and interactive. A pre-/post-intervention questionnaire assessed knowledge. Interviews were conducted with male participants and a focus group discussion (FGD) with women to assess program impact. Interview and FGD transcripts were analyzed for themes and recommendations. Major themes were—increased knowledge/awareness of risk associated with chronic conditions, change in health-care-seeking attitudes, increased self-efficacy to engage the health-care system, and lifestyle changes. Other impacts reported were building community/social support, a safe and enabling learning environment, and enhanced community health status overall. Recommendations included having extended, more in-depth sessions, targeting the younger generation, smaller cohort sizes, and more community-based health programming. Community-engaged health promotion using a cohort model as well as including women can be effective in increasing knowledge, enhancing self-efficacy, and providing the much-needed social support. These can influence health-related behaviors and thus contribute to improving health outcomes for AA men

Behavior change · Cohort · Community health · Family medicine · Focus group · Health care · Health education · Health equity · Health promotion · Psychological intervention · Public health · Health Policy Implementation Science · Health Promotion and Cardiovascular Prevention · Medicine · Nursing · Primary Care and Health Outcomes · Gerontology