Researching Solutions to Men's Health Disparities
The Center on Men’s Health Disparities (CMHD) at the University of Michigan, School of Public Health was established to address the unmet health needs of men experiencing a disproportionate burden of poor health outcomes locally, nationally and globally. Although science has overwhelmingly focused on the health of men, research has not systematically examined why men of different races, ethnicities, sexual identities and economic statuses have disparate patterns of health and illness. The CMHD develops new approaches to research and research training relevant to understanding health disparities among men.
Vision
Eliminating men’s health disparities through rigorous research, training, policy and practice.
Mission
To promote and support research that addresses behavioral, cultural, economic and social factors that create or exacerbate men’s health disparities.
Goals
- Improve the health of men experiencing a disproportionate burden of poor health outcomes through research that informs health policy and public health practice
- Conduct research that builds on assets and resources in men’s communities and attends to behavioral, cultural, economic and social forces that affect their health
- Facilitate research and research training that builds the capacity of researchers and communities to collaborate with men, their families, and their communities to create practical strategies for eliminating men’s health disparities
- Improve men’s health using community-based participatory research (CBPR) and other approaches that capitalize on and integrate the perspectives of community and diverse academic disciplines
- Coordinate local, state, national, and global research on men’s health disparities conducted by or in collaboration with Center faculty
Men’s health disparities is an emerging area of research that examines how the gendered nature of society differentially influences men’s health. The field of men’s health includes the investigation of: (1) conditions that are unique to men, (2) diseases or illnesses that are more prevalent in men, (3) health problems for which risk factors are different in men, and (4) health issues for which different interventions are required for men. While gender has been identified as a critical factor in women’s health, the social and cultural construction of gender and its implications have not garnered as much attention in men’s health. CMHD’s approach to addressing men’s health disparities considers how cultural values and beliefs associated with male gender intersect with race, ethnicity, SES, sexual identity, age, address, urbanicity, religion, and country of origin to differentially affect the health of men.