Health information and African American men: Barriers and facilitators to behavior change

Accessing and utilizing health information is a critical component of health behavior change. Few studies, however, have examined where African American men get health information and what influences how they utilize that information to guide their health practices. Using data from eighteen exploratory focus groups conducted with 154 urban African American men ages 30 and older living in Flint, Ypsilanti, and Detroit, Michigan, thematic analysis revealed that men received solicited and unsolicited health information from a variety of sources including health care professionals, media (books, newspapers, television), and members of their social network (church members, peers, family). Men's utilization of health information received varied. Several men reported receiving health information that increased their awareness of health issues, but did not lead them to change their behavior. A number of men mentioned that being diagnosed with a health problem, family values and commitments, and social support increased their utilization of health information for behavior change. Some barriers to utilization included insufficient level of detail in the information received and lack of trust in the information source. These findings illustrate that it is not enough to consider the volume of information available; rather, it is critical to identify factors that influence what information African American men choose to believe and follow or decide to ignore. Public health professionals need to understand the gendered and racialized contextual factors that promote and inhibit African American men's utilization of health information in order to increase the effectiveness of interventions to improve their health practices.