Directing Health Messages Toward African Americans

Health care policy and proposals for national health care reform have become some of the most contentious political issues of the decade. Garland Publishing announces a new series addressing the most significant issues in the area of health care policy and the business of health care in the United States. books in this multidisciplinary series will include studies of health care practice, the health care business, the implications of multicultural perspectives on health care for public policy, the impact of insurance on health care, and debates over national health care policy, including health care reform. This collection of timely works will offer significant scholarly perspectives on one of the most important issues in public policy.A group of higher riskThe health status of the African American population is generally lower than the health of white Americans or other ethnic groups. African Americans are at higher risk for such health problems as cancer, infant mortality, high blood pressure, sickle cell anemia, and lupus, and are more likely to engage in lifestyles that are not conducive to good health.Examines attitudes and beliefsThis study examines the attitudes of African Americans and white Americans toward the health care system and sources of health information. In particular, it analyzes the strategies and effectiveness of health-related marketing campaigns. Urban African Americans' and white Americans' attitudes and beliefs about health and the health care system are compared. African American media habits are discussed. These comparisons are analyzed to determine how health messages can be more effectively transmitted to the African Americans, particularly tothose living in urban settings who may resist seeking preventative health care.