Men’s Health Dialogue to Discuss Minority Men’s Health
Men of color and people who support them will gather to discuss men’s health issues on Thursday, April 1st from 5:30-7:30 PM at the Ingham County Health Department. The discussion will focus on things that keep men of color from realizing their full health potential including “upstream” factors like housing, unemployment, education, stress and lingering racism. The event is expected to lead to a report to the community which could help focus efforts to reduce health disparities.
Before the Dialogue there will be a Minority Men’s Health Fair at the Health Department from 11:00-4:00. The Health Fair will include over a dozen exhibits by advocacy groups, service providers and community groups working to promote men’s health. There will also be free health screenings including glucose, vision, hearing and HIV, and free nicotine patches. This event has been promoted in the local media and it is expected that many men will come seeking health information.
The event will be kicked off at 12:00 PM on April 1st at the Health Department by special guest A. J. Hilton. Mr. Hilton and Dr. Dean Sienko, Health Officer will discuss health disparities and how the Dialogue and Fair will address them. Media are encouraged to arrive by 11:45. We will help arrange interviews with men participating in the event.
The Health Dialogue and Fair is prompted by the fact that for the most part men of color still have poorer health than white men. For example on average African American men live 6 years less than White men. And African American men have cancer and heart disease rates 25 percent higher than White men. Native American and Hispanic men have diabetes rates nearly twice as high as White men. The current economic downturn is making the situation worse. For example African American men are twice as likely to be uninsured as White men. The event is funded by a grant from the Michigan Department of Community Health.
All of these activities will be at the Ingham County Health Department, 5303 South Cedar Street in Lansing. No recording will be permitted during the Dialogue itself.
