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Review
. 2016:37:295-311.
doi: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-032315-021556.

Visible and Invisible Trends in Black Men's Health: Pitfalls and Promises for Addressing Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Inequities in Health

Keon L Gilbert  1 , Rashawn Ray  2 , Arjumand Siddiqi  3   4   5 , Shivan Shetty  1 , Elizabeth A Baker  1 , Keith Elder  6 , Derek M Griffith  7   8
Affiliations
Review

Visible and Invisible Trends in Black Men's Health: Pitfalls and Promises for Addressing Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Inequities in Health

Keon L Gilbert et al. Annu Rev Public Health. 2016.

Abstract

Over the past two decades, there has been growing interest in improving black men's health and the health disparities affecting them. Yet, the health of black men consistently ranks lowest across nearly all groups in the United States. Evidence on the health and social causes of morbidity and mortality among black men has been narrowly concentrated on public health problems (e.g., violence, prostate cancer, and HIV/AIDS) and determinants of health (e.g., education and male gender socialization). This limited focus omits age-specific leading causes of death and other social determinants of health, such as discrimination, segregation, access to health care, employment, and income. This review discusses the leading causes of death for black men and the associated risk factors, as well as identifies gaps in the literature and presents a racialized and gendered framework to guide efforts to address the persistent inequities in health affecting black men.

Keywords: African American; health equity; intersectionality; men's health; men's health disparities; social determinants of health.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Life expectancy by race and gender, 1970–2013. Data taken from Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, Life expectancy at birth for selected years (8, 9).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Differences in life expectancy between black men and black women, 1970–2012. Data taken from Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, Life expectancy at birth for selected years (8, 9).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Differences in life expectancy between black and white men, 1970–2012. Data taken from Centers for Disease Control, National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics System, Life expectancy at birth for selected years (8, 9).
Figure 4
Figure 4
A typology of neighborhood racial composition and health behaviors, by race and gender.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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