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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Rashid Njai, BA, Health Behavior and Health Education/School of Public Health, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, 1420 Washington Heights Blvd, SPH II, 5th Floor, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, 734-973-3158, rnjai@hotmail.com and Harold Neighbors, PhD, Center for Research on Ethnicity, Culture and Health, University of Michigan, School of Public Health, 109 S. Observatory, Ann Arbor, MI 48109.
John Henryism has been described as an active coping mechanism to deal with environmental stressors. Existing research has explored the relationship between John Henryism and a series of physical health outcomes. Fewer studies have explored the association between John Henryism and health care seeking behaviors. This study explored the degree and extent of John Henryism in a sample of 586 African American adults, using a 4-item version of the John Henryism Active Coping Scale. John Henryism was also examined in relationship to a general wellness assessment, measured using a self-report rating of overall physical health, and four health care seeking behaviors (mode of care sought, frequency of routine health examinations, likelihood of seeking care when physically ill, and likelihood of seeking care when mentally ill). Data for these analyses come from the 1995 Detroit Area Study, a multi-stage probability sample of adult respondents, eighteen years of age or older. While many African Americans expressed relatively low John Henryism (48%), this construct was significantly related to the general wellness assessment and the frequency of routine health examinations, such that those exhibiting higher John Henryism described better physical health and reported higher frequencies of routine health visits. In addition, African Americans’ expressed John Henryism was not significantly related to their reported mode of health care sought, or the likelihood of seeking care when physically or mentally ill. These findings have important implications for interventions that attempt to improve effective utilization in African American communities.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, participants will be able to
Keywords: African American, Health Care Utilization
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.