Culturally Responsive Health Promotion to Address Health Disparities in African American Men: A Program Impact Evaluation.
Olihe N OkoroChantele S NelsonStephan P WitherspoonSalaam F WitherspoonGlenn E SimmonsPublished in: American journal of men's health (2021)
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.
Keyphrases
- healthcare
- health promotion
- mental health
- social support
- african american
- cardiovascular disease
- depressive symptoms
- prostate cancer
- cancer therapy
- primary care
- polycystic ovary syndrome
- middle aged
- physical activity
- metabolic syndrome
- quality improvement
- randomized controlled trial
- weight loss
- type diabetes
- health information
- pregnancy outcomes
- clinical practice
- public health
- risk assessment
- cross sectional
- affordable care act
- insulin resistance
- drug delivery
- drug induced
- cardiovascular risk factors
- pregnant women
- general practice