Bridge the Divide in Black Men's Health

Background:  African American males as a population are disproportionately devastated by poor health outcomes. The documentation of longterm health disparities have been linked, in part to low incomes and low health literacy levels. Low functional literacy and low health literacy impede millions of Americans from successfully accessing health information. These problems are compounded for African Americans by cultural insensitivity in health materials.

Program background:  Healthyblackmen.org was launched in 2010 on a shoestring budget by dedicated public health professionals interested in increasing Black males exposure to health and lifestyle information and resources. The lack of existing, regularly updated health websites with a focus on Black males spawned the concept and the launch for Healthyblackmen.org. The team behind the website have long believed that raising awareness and informing vulnerable males, Black males about all aspects of health and wellness would reap benefits within families, communities, and ultimatelty the population. Consistently publishing culturally and racially relevant content, utilizing social media and social media leaders, we've been able to increase web traffic, encourage personal assessment of one's health, and develop as a credible online resource.   The website has nearly tripled its audience annually since inception, expanded its web presence to four social media platforms, and is developing organizational partnerships- ALL WITH VOLUNTEERS. The editorial and web maintenance team volunteer their time and expertise under the leadership of Mr. Tisdale. Likely by the time of this meeting, Healthyblackmen.org will have transitioned into a not-for-profit organization.

Evaluation Methods and Results: Web traffic (e.g. unique visits, searches, clicks, etc.) are measured and reported via Google Analytics. Specific Social Media performance is documented per account.

Conclusions: The conclusion is one that is ongoing. As of this writing, Healthyblackmen.org stands alone as an online health resource dedicated to Black Men's Health, utilizing volunteers, subject-matter experts, students, etc. in lieu of a paid staff to implement its work. Given the financial struggle, there is undisputable evidence that HBM has developed a web following (e.g. web traffic, social media presence, organizational support) with our target population. The next phase requires funding to have dedicated staff to intensify efforts, expand editorial content, and develop complimentary tools to build on efforts in reducing low levels of health literacy. We hope to develop a mobile app upon securing funds.  

Implications for research and/or practice: The practical implication is simple. Prior to Healthyblackmen.org, there seemingly were no consistently updated, credible health websites targeting Black males comprehensively. The old adage, "If you build it, they will come" is true. What is also true is that money makes the world go around and funding is necessary to develop a viable, meaningful online resource like HBM that can potentially reach hundreds of thousands of Black males- those most at-risk for poor health outcomes, early death, poor quality of life, etc. Investing in tailored, credible online resources, even if volunteer driven yields great opportunities to reduce the levels of health literacy among Black males.