Background: Public health is what we, as a society, do collectively to ensure the conditions in which people can be healthy. While access to affordable and quality health care and health behaviors are clearly related to health outcomes, recent work has reminded us as a field that social, economic and environmental conditions account for a large portion of the mortality in the United States. Moreover, the literature describing the relationship between conditions needed for health, commonly referred to as social determinants (e.g., living, working and social conditions, institutions, systems, and resources such as employment opportunities, education, safe housing), and health outcomes has documented that the unequal distribution of these conditions across various populations is a significant contributor to persistent and pervasive health disparities in the U.S. and elsewhere, and that without attention to these conditions we will most surely fail in our efforts to eliminate health disparities. Overview: Men on the Move will develop educational and economic opportunities for men using community based participatory action research approaches.
Specific Aims : 1: To develop a plan to improve access to educational and economic opportunities among men within Pemiscot County (enhance partnerships and bridging social capital, conduct community assessment of residents, nonprofit organizations, local government officials and local businesses using community and research personnel for data collection; jointly analyze data and develop specific objectives and activities) and 2: To pilot test the educational and economic development programs developed (provide training to community residents to implement programs and collect program data) Innovation and Dissemination: This program will address two factors community members have identified as being associated with several community health concerns - educational and economic opportunities. The findings from our work will be disseminated within the community and in local and national venues. ? ?
