“Healthy Together” A Self-Management Program for Black Men with Chronic Illness: An Update

Overview: Racial and economic disparities highlight the need for peer-led self-management interventions that are culturally informed and designed for Black men living with Chronic illnesses. The purpose of this NIH-funded project is to design a culturally competent self-management program. Researchers presented at a previous APM, this presentation will be an update.Proposal text: In 2009, Timothy Waidmann from the Urban Institute attempted to quantify the cost of racial and ethnic health disparities in America. Disparities between Black and non-Hispanic whites was estimated to cost the American health care system $23.9 billion dollars. Furthermore, chronic disease during the same year resulted in over $2 billion dollars in out of pocket expenses for Black Americans (Waidmann, 2009). If left unattended, Waidmann (2009) expected these costs to hyper inflate by 2050 to $50 billion dollars with over $5 billions in out of pocket expenses directly related to chronic disease. Low-income Black men represent a particularly vulnerable group, often experiencing significant health inequalities, risk factors and multiple chronic conditions (Oates et al., 2017). Since much of the behavioral outcomes associated with chronic disease management occur outside of the doctor’s office, many health management researchers and professionals have turned to self-management systems to improve behaviors related to the positive management of chronic disease and comorbid conditions (Lorig & Holman, 2003).

Low-income Black men also face added difficulties carrying out positive self-management behaviors and making critical decisions about their health, due in part to cultural beliefs and practices, knowledge and perceptions regarding chronic conditions, and lack of networks to support ongoing engagement in prescribed care within their communities (Powell et al., 2016). Furthermore, systemic racial disparities and perceptions toward a healthcare system that has consistently failed to adequately provide for low income Black men contributes to a pervasive mistrust in the healthcare system (DeSouza, 2020; Watson, 2014, Williams et al., 2019). These challenges contribute to further disparities in risk factors, chronic disease progression, access to appropriate care, and ultimately disability and death (Assari, 2018; Esiaka et al., 2019; Hawkens, 2018). However, peer led self management programs for chronic disease have been shown have a positive effect on low SES African American men managing chronic disease (Collard et al., 2017). The purpose of this presentation is to explore data on chronic diseases health disparities regarding low income Black men in Georgia, and explore the development of a culturally competent peer led self-management program funded by NIH.

Learning Objectives:
1. Participants will be able to identify key claims for established disparities and how they are related to the self-management of chronic illness among low-SES Black men.
2. Participants will explore the benefits of peer-led self-management programs as an integral part of the health care and health management for Black men.
3. Participants will be able to explain the context and parameters of what makes a self-management programs culturally competent and how these programs could benefit other populations.
4. Participants will learn about the results of pilot studies and the current status of the program development process.