Moving toward better health: Understanding health beliefs and readiness for lifestyle change in young, low-income African American men

In the context of health preventive behaviors, apart from issues related to ATOD, young African American men are one of the least understood and most underserved populations in public health. Yet we know that as a group, just some short years later, they will present with high rates of chronic diseases and many will prematurely die. In addition, recent research suggests high levels of undiagnosed depression in this group and men in this age group are least likely to have access to health care. African-Americans in low-income neighborhoods experience high levels of chronic stress due to oppressive social and economic conditions. With emergent clarity about the associations between socioeconomic status, chronic stress, and depression in the development of chronic disease, we need to direct more efforts toward developing culturally specific interventions that actively and respectfully engage these young men as partners. Using CBPR methods we worked in partnership with a group of young African American men between ages 18 to 30, recruited from community sites in a low income urban southern California community. We conduct exploratory Grounded Theory-based interviews (N=15) and validation focus groups exploring men's knowledge, beliefs, practices and barriers related to lifestyle changes, chronic disease, stress, and prevention. In a follow-up survey based on socio-ecological theory and our qualitative results we then explored feasibility and logistics for future preventive interventions. Results indicate lack of knowledge and perceived vulnerability, high levels of stress, stressful life events and undiagnosed depression as well as interest in preventive interventions if delivered respectfully.