title: High risk community--men's perceptions of black infant mortality: a qualitative inquiry.
abstract: Infant mortality has been identified as a key public health concern in the United States. Although infant mortality rates (IMRs) in the United States have declined during the past 10 years, the rates among Blacks are more than two times higher as compared with other racial and ethnic groups. This study used focus groups to explore Black men's awareness and perceptions of the rising IMR in their community. Twenty-five men participated in an initial and follow-up focus group, which revealed that men had limited awareness of infant mortality, reduced sense of personal responsibility for pregnancy outcomes, and perceptions that stress, the age of the mother, and the health care system were responsible for poor birth outcomes. The role of the community and possible interventions to involve and educate men were also explored.
authors.affiliation: Moffitt Cancer Center, Health Outcomes and Behavior Program, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33612, USA. gquinn@health.usf.edu
authors.forename: Gwendolyn P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Quinn
authors.forename: Euna M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: August
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Austin
authors.forename: Candace
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Keefe
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bernadotte
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Scarborough
authors.forename: Delores
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jeffers
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D000368:Aged; D001293:Attitude to Death; D001364:Awareness; D005431:Florida; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality / Q000208:ethnology*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult