The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #46388

Bruce Armstrong, DSW¹, Roger Vaughan, DrPH¹, Bridget Moneypenny¹, Brian Neulander¹, Andrea Nye¹, David Bell, MD¹, Alwyn Cohall, MD², Erin Kenny, MPH³, and Lorraine Tiezzi, MS¹. (1) Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 60 Haven Ave., B3, New York, NY 10032, 212-304-5247, ba5@columbia.edu, (2) Harlem Health Promotion Center, Columbia University, 600 West 168th Street, Fourth Floor, New York, NY 10032, (3) EngenderHealth, 440 Ninth Ave., New York, NY 10001

Young adult males are more likely than females or younger adolescent males to engage in behaviors that compromise their reproductive health (RH) and the health of their partners, e.g. have multiple sexual partners. They are also less likely to receive health care services, and to delay accessing services even when health concerns arise. Despite the emergence of men's health as an important public health concern and calls for efforts to increase male involvement in reproductive health, few service models for men have been developed, sustained, and evaluated. This session describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of social marketing interventions intended to draw young men into RH services at the Young Men's Clinic (YMC) in New York City.

The YMC is operated by Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and New York Presbyterian Hospital and serves males 13-30 years old at over 2,500 visits annually. This session will describe the formative, process, and outcome evaluation activities of clinic social marketing strategies. Three interventions conducted by Columbia public health faculty and students in conjunction with YMC clinic staff and patients will be highlighted: waiting room group work with female family planning clinic patients, community distribution of cartoons depicting men involved in RH behaviors, and a computer-based video promoting chlamydia screening.

Learning Objectives: At the end of the session, participants will be able to

• List five indicators of "male involvement" in reproductive health (RH) besides using condoms.
• List three barriers to involvement in RH services perceived by inner-city men.
• Describe three community-based outreach interventions to draw men to RH services.
• Discuss methods of conducting formative, process, and outcome evaluation activities of social marketing interventions targeted at increasing male involvement in RH.

Keywords: Reproductive Health, Social Marketing

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.