Despite increased attention to minority health needs, African American men have higher rates of developing and dying from many diseases associated with unhealthy eating and physical inactivity when compared to white men, white women and African American women. Unfortunately, much of what we know about African American health, including strategies considering culture when targeting healthy eating and physical activity, is based predominately on programs conducted with African American women. This is a significant limitation because well documented, gender-specific differences in dietary health and physical activity highlight the relevance of gender as a determinant of health behavior. Thus, if we are to adequately address the health needs of African American men, both culture and gender must be considered when developing and implementing strategies to increase their healthy eating and physical activity.
The aim of this proposal is to develop and test gendered, culturally and contextually relevant messages that will be used in a future, web- based tailored intervention to increase healthy eating and physical activity in African American men. A tailored intervention - that is, an intervention customized to the unique preferences, interests and contexts of individual African American men - may be more engaging than an intervention targeted to African American men as a population group in part, because it may be deemed more personally relevant. In addition, by addressing multiple health behaviors - healthy eating and physical activity - this study reflects the fact that most U.S. adults engage in 2 or more unhealthy behaviors, which puts them at the greatest risks for chronic disease, disability, and premature death. Addressing multiple behavior changes increases the real-world applicability of this research and enhances the chances to uncover common mechanisms of health behavior and unique mechanisms for health behavior change. Our proposed study includes 3 phases: (1) formative research to refine our understanding of gendered, cultural and environmental determinants of healthy eating and physical activity;(2) develop tailored health messages to promote healthy eating and physical activity for African American men;and (3) test and refine the messages to yield a bank of messages for use in future, tailored health promotion interventions to promote healthy eating and physical activity for African American men. Upon completion, we will be well positioned to implement an R01 for a randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of the tailored messages in a web-based intervention to improve African American men's healthy eating and physical activity.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Type
Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21)
Project #
5R21DK095257-03
Application #
8464096
Study Section
Health Disparities and Equity Promotion Study Section (HDEP)
Program Officer
Hunter, Christine
Project Start
2012-05-01
Project End
2014-04-30
Budget Start
2013-05-01
Budget End
2014-04-30
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2013
Total Cost
$188,175
Indirect Cost
$67,550
Name
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
004413456
City
Nashville
State
TN
Country
United States
Zip Code
37212
Dean, Donnatesa A L; Griffith, Derek M; McKissic, Sydika A et al. (2018) Men on the Move-Nashville: Feasibility and Acceptability of a Technology-Enhanced Physical Activity Pilot Intervention for Overweight and Obese Middle and Older Age African American Men. Am J Mens Health 12:798-811
Cornish, Emily K; Bergner, Erin M; Griffith, Derek M (2017) ""They have said that I was slightly depressed but there are circumstances that bring that on"": How Middle-Aged and Older African American Men Describe Perceived Stress and Depression. Ethn Dis 27:437-442
Cornish, Emily K; McKissic, Sydika A; Dean, Donnatesa A L et al. (2017) Lessons Learned About Motivation From a Pilot Physical Activity Intervention for African American Men. Health Promot Pract 18:102-109
Griffith, Derek M; Cornish, Emily K; McKissic, Sydika A et al. (2016) Differences in Perceptions of the Food Environment Between African American Men Who Did and Did Not Consume Recommended Levels of Fruits and Vegetables. Health Educ Behav 43:648-655
Griffith, Derek M (2016) Biopsychosocial Approaches to Men's Health Disparities Research and Policy. Behav Med 42:211-5
Gilbert, Keon L; Ray, Rashawn; Siddiqi, Arjumand et al. (2016) Visible and Invisible Trends in Black Men's Health: Pitfalls and Promises for Addressing Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Inequities in Health. Annu Rev Public Health 37:295-311
Ellis, Katrina R; Griffith, Derek M; Allen, Julie Ober et al. (2015) ""If you do nothing about stress, the next thing you know, you're shattered"": Perspectives on African American men's stress, coping and health from African American men and key women in their lives. Soc Sci Med 139:107-14
Griffith, Derek M (2015) ""I AM a Man"": Manhood, Minority Men's Health and Health Equity. Ethn Dis 25:287-93
Brown, Tyson H; Hargrove, Taylor W; Griffith, Derek M (2015) Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Men's Health: Examining Psychosocial Mechanisms. Fam Community Health 38:307-18
Griffith, Derek M; Brinkley-Rubinstein, Lauren; Bruce, Marino A et al. (2015) The Interdependence of African American Men's Definitions of Manhood and Health. Fam Community Health 38:284-96

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