“Brothers- Mind Your Health!” Presented by Alphonso Gibbs, Jr., MSW at

2. “Brothers- Mind Your Health!” Presented by Alphonso Gibbs, Jr., MSW at National Partnership for Community Leadership’s 10th International Fatherhood Conference June 11, 2008

3. Agenda • Establish objectives for this seminar • Issues • Facts & Statistics • Review men’s health practices • Physical, Nutritional, Biological, Spiritual, Sexual, Environmental, Mental, and Emotional • Questions and Answers

4. Objectives • Establish open/honest dialogue on men’s health disparity issues • Demonstrate how to communicate and evaluate health information for men • Discuss the health needs of minority men throughout their lifespan • Identify resources of men’s health education materials

5. The Issues • Health professionals, researchers and activists are finally paying attention to the need to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health. • But efforts to address these disparities often omit men- a forgotten demographic in health policy and practice. • Men of color are less healthy than any other group and more likely to suffer chronic conditions. • They have reduced access to care and are more severely affected by the underlying causes of disease. • Thus far, men of color have been underrepresented in proposed solutions to health disparity problems.

6. The Issues • For non-elderly men, 46 percent of Latinos and 28 percent of African-Americans lack health insurance. • Men of color are less likely than white men to have job-based insurance, and only 6 percent to 8 percent of Latino and African-American men have Medicaid. • Regardless of insurance status, men of color are less likely to receive timely preventive services, and more likely to suffer the consequences of delayed attention, such as limb amputations and radical cancer surgery. • The Institute of Medicine has found significant racial and ethnic disparities within the health care system.  • Higher rates of heart disease deaths occurred among men who live in parts of the rural South, including the Mississippi River Valley and Appalachian regions, than men living in most parts of the western United States and upper Midwest.

7. Physical

8. Health Facts for Black Men • Black men suffer far worse health than any other racial group in America. • Reasons include: • Lack of affordable health services, • Poor health education • Cultural barriers • Poverty • Employment that does not carry health insurance • Insufficient medical and social services catering for black men.

9. Health Statistics for Black Men • Life expectancy for African-American men is 7.1 years less than for white men, 7.5 years less than for African-American women and 12.7 years less than for white women. • African-American men die of heart disease at a rate of 244.7 per 100,000 — more than 2.5 times the rate for white women. • Cerebrovascular disease is twice as likely to kill African-American men, at a rate of 50.5 per 100,000, as it is to kill white men or women. • 221.1 per 100,000 African-American men die of cancer — more than twice the rate for white women. • For HIV/AIDS, the differences are huge. African-American men die of complications from HIV/AIDS at a rate of 62.7 per 100,000, compared with 25.5 for Latino men, 19.1 for African-American women, 12.5 for white men, 5.9 for Latino women and 1.8 for white women. • Poverty, income inequality, low educational status and unemployment are more likely to affect men of color. • In the Appalachian region, younger black men (ages 35 to 64) experience considerably higher deaths rates for the major causes of death (heart disease, cancers, stroke, lung cancer, and accidental) than either black women or white men and women of comparable age.

10. Health Statistics for Black Men • 40% of black men die prematurely from cardiovascular disease as compared to 21% of white men • They have a higher incidence and a higher rate of death from oral diseases and cancer • 44% of black men are considered overweight • 24% are obese • They have a higher incidence of diabetes and prostate cancer

11. Ten Leading Causes of Death for Blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans (2001) • Cardiovascular Disease • Cancer • Stroke • Unintentional injuries • Diabetes • Homicide • HIV/AIDS • Chronic lower respiratory disease • Nephritis, Nephrotic syndrome and Nephrosis (Chronic or Degenerative Kidney Disease) • Septicemia (Diseased Blood From Toxins)

12. Health Status of Youths of Color • African Americans have the highest homicide rate. Whereas homicide is the second leading cause of death for people 15 to 24 years of age, it is the leading cause of death for African Americans in that same age group. • Ethnic minority youths are the hardest hit by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and youths of color also have disproportionate rates of sexually transmitted diseases and unintended pregnancies. • Suicide and other health-damaging behavior often result from unidentified and untreated mental health issues and depression. African American adolescents, particularly young men, are more likely to be referred to the juvenile justice system rather than the mental health treatment system.

13. Health Status of Youths of Color • From 1980 to 1996, a disproportionate number of suicides occurred among young male American Indians- from 15 to 24 years old at a rate of 64 percent of all suicides by American Indians. • Rates of use of mental health services by Mexican Americans and other immigrant groups are particularly low. Lack of community-based services and language barriers are primary reasons for this.

14. Spiritual • Faith • Prayer • Meditation Where do spirituality and religion split?

15. Nutrition

16. Environmental • Air • Crime • Employment • “Un-” vs. “Under-” • Housing • Adequate • Safe • Noise Pollution • Water • Exercise Areas

17. Biological Minority men have a greater chance of developing or dying from certain chronic diseases: • certain cancers • heart disease • high blood pressure • diabetes

18. Sexual • Reputations • Male vs. Female • Conquests • Education • Sons & Daughters • Same? Why/Not? • Habits/Practices • “Magic Blue Bullet” • Manhood Issues “Barbershop Lies and Stories”

19. Emotional If crying is viewed as cleansing for women, why are anger and violence more acceptable emotions for men?

20. Mental - Stress & Depression Physical Symptoms • Sleep Disturbances • Back, Shoulder or Neck Pain • Headaches • Weight Gain or Loss • Hair Loss • Muscle Tension, Fatigue • High Blood Pressure Emotional Symptoms • Nervousness, Anxiety, Moodiness, Irritability, Frustration • Memory Problems • Lack of Concentration • Feeling Out of Control • Substance Abuse RelationalSymptoms • Increased Arguments • Isolation from Social Activities • Conflict With Co-workers • Frequent Job Changes • Road Rage • Domestic or Workplace Violence • Overreactions

21. Mental - Stress & Depression • Can we talk? • What/who do you listen to? • What do you read? • Do you know what influences your thoughts? • (Do you know how you think?) • Have you ever talked with a mental health professional?

22. Symptoms of Depression • Men often divert themselves into different activities. Some compulsively work, others turn to alcohol and drugs, yet others engage in reckless behavior as a way of coping. • Although women make more suicide attempts, four times as many men as women die by suicide in the United States.

23. Causes of Depression • Six million American men experience depression each year. • There are many different causes and types of depression. • Some types are easier to identify than others; bereavement, marriage breakdown, or being unable to find work are some of the more obvious causes. • But, sometimes depression can strike out of the blue.

24. Treatment available for depression • Counseling, psychotherapy or a support group. • Psychotherapeutic work can be on an individual or group basis. Group work allows you to see that there are lots of people experiencing the things you are and this can be very therapeutic. You don’t feel so isolated and talking to others is very supportive. • Antidepressant medication is available specifically to treat depression. If one type of medication is not providing change or relief a different type can be tried until you get a positive therapeutic effect. • Rates of use of mental health services by Mexican Americans and other immigrant groups are particularly low. Lack of community-based services and language barriers are primary reasons for this.

25. Post TraumaticStress Disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD, is among only a few mental disorders that are triggered by a disturbing outside event, quite unlike other psychiatric disorders such as depression. Many Americans experience individual traumatic events ranging from car and airplane accidents to sexual assault and domestic violence. Other experiences, including those associated with natural disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and tornadoes, affect multiple people simultaneously. Dramatic and tragic events, like the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, and wars occur, and with media exposure such as we have today, even people not directly involved might be affected. Simply put, PTSD is a state in which you "can't stop remembering."

26. Post TraumaticStress Disorder • Although the disorder must be diagnosed by a mental health professional, symptoms of PTSD are clearly defined. To be diagnosed with PTSD, you must have been in a situation in which you were afraid for your safety or your life, or you must have experienced something that made you feel fear, helplessness, or horror. • The worse the trauma, the more likely a person will develop PTSD, and the worse the symptoms. The most severely affected are unable to work, have trouble with relationships, and have great difficulty parenting their children. • Research has shown that PTSD changes the biology of the brain. MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and PET (positron emission tomography) scans show changes in the way memories are stored in the brain. PTSD is an environmental shock that changes your brain, and scientists do not know if it is reversible.

27. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder • Some 88% of men and 79% of women with PTSD also have another psychiatric disorder. Nearly half suffer from major depression, 16% from anxiety disorders, and 28% from social phobia. • They also are more likely to have risky health behaviors such as alcohol abuse, which affects 52% of men with PTSD and 28% of women, while drug abuse is seen in 35% of men and 27% of women with PTSD. • When African Americans are exposed to trauma, they are more likely to develop PTSD than whites. • People who are exposed to the most intense trauma are the most likely to develop PTSD. • The higher the degree of exposure to trauma, the more likely you are to develop PTSD. So, if something happens to you more than once or if something occurs to you over a very long period of time, the likelihood of developing PTSD is increased.

28. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder • Sometimes, people who have heart attacks or cancer develop PTSD.  • People with PTSD often have problems functioning. In general, people with PTSD have more unemployment, divorce or separation, spouse abuse and chance of being fired than people without PTSD. • Although PTSD symptoms can begin right after a traumatic event, PTSD is not diagnosed unless the symptoms last for at least one month, and either cause significant distress or interfere with work or home life. In order to be diagnosed with PTSD, a person must have three different types of symptoms: re-experiencing symptoms, avoidance and numbing symptoms, and arousal symptoms. • PTSD can be treated with psychotherapy (‘talk’ therapy) and medicines such as antidepressants. Early treatment is important and may help reduce long-term symptoms. Unfortunately, many people do not know that they have PTSD or do not seek treatment.

29. Conclusion If we know all of these things, then what are we prepared to do differently to make a change in these areas?

30. Questions and Answers

31. Contact Information: Alphonso Gibbs, Jr., MSW agibbsmsw@gmail.com (443) 804-6158