The Health Concerns of Black Men.

As we recognize National Men’s Health month, we want to discuss the invisible wounds of Black men and the disproportionate rate that they suffer in health settings. African American men have unique health concerns that include diabetes, hypertension, mental health, and obesity, all of which increase the risk of stroke. Black men are more likely to die from chronic illnesses like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer than White men, and their average life expectancy is lower. While experts point to a variety of factors that might play a role, but many say the most pervasive is racism and racism in healthcare. As a result, many experts say that these health problems stem from a persistent devaluation of Black men in U.S. society. For example, many of us don’t know too many Black men who haven’t had some experience with the criminal justice system or law enforcement. Either in a car, coming from work, or in stores, the moment a Black man walks in a store they are immediately racially profile which leads to some psychological impact. It is another layer of stress!

Health care disparities heighten disease differences between Black men and White men. Part of the challenge has been that Black men’s health typically been examined through a focus on racial and ethnic health disparities. This is useful for “identifying factors that places focus on racial and ethnic health disparities in Black men’s health.

“To be male, poor, and either African-American or Afro Latino is to confront, on a daily basis, a deeply held racism that exists in every social institution. No other demographic group has fared as badly, so persistently and for so long. To meet this “appalling crisis,” there needs to be a New Deal for Black men.”

While healthcare scrambles to incorporate a new approach to address the racism and health outcomes for Black men, it is important to start with having an honest discussion about the unfortunate long and sordid history in the medical world of holding Black people responsible for poor health outcomes. Despite the racial discrimination they have encountered in doctor’s offices and hospital throughout the years that persist until this day. To be clear Black men are not to bear the burden of being victimized by a system that was never designed to include them.

While this approach is useful for identifying health issues that require additional attention, comparative approaches tend to obscure unique physical environment, economic circumstances, social norms and cultural practices that affect patterns of health outcomes for Black men. There are many factors of this issue to explore; one key factor that often goes undiscussed is that the roots of the Black community having an innate connection to nature. There is a significant body of research that portrays Blacks as being disconnected from nature that leads to disruption in their health. In other words, during slavery Black people and the entire diaspora have been extracted from their natural habitat and have subjected to eating “Western” food that is high in fat and sodium which leaves them vulnerable to poor health outcomes. As the Black community is slowly gravitating back to nature, being outside, being active and eating natural foods, Black men still face challenges while managing health.

We assert that to fully understand and improve the health of Black men it is imperative to take a more complete view of Black men’s health outcomes and obtain a broader understanding of how social experiences and institutional forces influence these outcomes. The legacy of slavery that lead to the consistent behavior to devalue Black men is a root cause of these institutional forces. However, more recent forms of discrimination such as Jim Crow, lynching, segregation, and the prison industrial complex, enacted against Black males in contemporary US society are enduring versions of institutional forces that promotes and maintain health disparities.

“Throughout American history, African American men have suffered different and worse health status and outcomes, which began as a slave health deficit. The treatment of Black men and Black women was very harsh during slavery; however, where it may have differed is in the demonization and criminalization of Black men in ways that require a more nuanced understanding of these determinants of Black men’s health.” Such as Tuskegee experiment and Jim Crow laws. During the Tuskegee experiment Black male soldiers and poor Black men were targeted for this illegal experiment and were told that they will receive free healthcare. Instead, they were infected with the syphilis for experimental purposes leaving the soldiers and poor Black men demented and blind. They conducted this illegal experience from 1932-1972 that’s 30 years which have affected their health and the health of their offspring. The doctors watched their health deteriorated knowing all along that a simple penicillin shot could cure the disease and improve their health. This event alone has disrupted the trust that Black men have while seeking care and have created the ideology of accepted poor health ethics from doctors throughout time.

Healthcare has been legally segregated for minorities as a whole. Jim Crow laws in 1965 were passed to classify monitories as 2^nd class citizens and healthcare was no exception. Considering that Jim Crow was not that long ago, and how many of us have parents and grandparents who lived during this era and who are still alive today with poor health outcomes passed down generations. In another example, during Jim Crow it was illegal for White nurses to treat Black men in attempts to keep Black men away from White women due to the false narrative that Black men will rape them. These abhorrent ideologies were accepted, normalized and made law and passed down through teachings of healthcare. I’m assuming this is the time in history where so-called patriots want to “Make America Great Again”, but I digress.

The experiences endured of poor health treatment has caused a lot of fear and anxiety among Black men who feel like they may be left to die in a health setting, this is extremely horrifying and unjust. Often Black men leave the doctor’s office without a robust amount of information, unanswered questions and often left confused. In 2016 Sandford University released a case study that showed 53% of medical students did not believe that Black people feel pain due to the melanin in their skin that inhibit the nerve endings to send signals to brain that indicates the body is in pain. As primitive as these doctrines are we must consider that these medical students are now doctors subconsciously practicing discrimination and delivery poor care to Black men in health settings. For example, being that Black men are susceptible to injuries 63% more than any other race many of them visit the ER with their complaints of pain not being taken seriously and often left untreated.

Therefore, it is imperative that healthcare focuses on building culturally competent doctors who understand this eco system of health as it relates to Black men. And keep a keen eye on conditions that disproportionately affect them. This approach is inclusive to the African diaspora of Latino community or Afro-Latino. Research suggests that the power of discrimination to harm Black men’s lives may be more persistent than previously understood. And they could mean that improving Black men’s health may be more complicated than previously believed. The one complication from addressing this issue is that many White doctors and law makers don’t like to admit that persistent racism is the reason for poor health outcomes among Black men including the disproportionate rate that they are targeted and arrested. Many of them don’t like to admit that racism still exist because that will admit them into understating that they play a role in it. The cumulative effect of discrimination against Black men in healthcare settings takes a toll psychologically and physiologically and so does the anticipation of it.

While the abuse and suffering of Black men seem, endless there is hope when it comes to their health. Positive changes in the way Black men think about their health can make them more motivated to address the root causes of hypertension, diabetes, and obesity, including their link to increased stroke risk. But again Black men should not have to bear the burden alone of correcting an issue or system that they did not create.

Black men are the pillars, providers, and protectors of the Black community. We need you; we value you and we value your health. You are not in this alone as we will continue to work on solutions that improve your health and happiness. This is “OurHealth OurWay”.

Works Cited:

https://www.jhsph.edu/news/stories/2020/the-black-mens-health-project.html

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6531286/