WU-CDTR member, Ka’imi Sinclair, PhD, Assistant Professor of Community Health at Washington State University College of Nursing, recently published a study focusing on Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) Men’s Health in the Asian American Journal of Psychology, alongside co-authors, Dan Pritchard, MEd, and Pearl McElfish, PhD.
The study explored NHPI men’s multilevel perspectives of the factors that influence healthy eating, physical activity, and weight, to prompt recommendations for lifestyle interventions and understand the intersections among masculinity and health. The authors used a convergent parallel design to explore these concepts, in communities in Tacoma, Washington and Fayetteville, Arkansas. Focus groups were used to understand the influence of masculinity on lifestyle behaviors, and survey design was implemented to assess demographics, and self-reported health and physical activity.
The study found that hegemonic, or traditional Western masculinity, inclines some NHPI men to put their health at risk but masculinity can also be used to influence healthy behaviors. These findings prompt public health practitioners to assess NHPI men’s masculinity, preferences, and values to develop interventions that have maximum relevance and effectiveness for this population.
This research was supported by the Washington University Center for Diabetes Translation Research.
Sinclair, K. A., Pritchard, D., & McElfish, P. A. (2019). An intersectional mixed methods approach to Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander men’s health. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 10(3), 268–281. https://doi.org/10.1037/aap0000156