Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Public Health

Advisor

Nicoletta Alexander

Abstract

Black men in the United States have the highest prevalence rate of hypertension compared to men and women of other ethnicities. Despite numerous health promotion and education programs tailored toward reducing hypertension among Black men, a gap exists in research regarding how environmental-induced anxiety and ethnicity may be associated with the occurrence or presence of hypertension among Black men. Using the reasoned action theory as a theoretical guide, this quantitative cross-sectional study incorporated four research questions to investigate if there was an association between environmental-induced anxiety (community violence, low income), ethnicity, and the risk of hypertension in men when age, education, employment status, and marital status were considered. Secondary data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adults Health 1994-2018 survey from men ages 33-43 were analyzed using binomial logistic regression. The findings indicated that environmental anxieties, such as community violence, low income, and ethnicity, were not associated with hypertension prevalence among men (n = 1,337). However, the covariate unemployment was significantly associated with hypertension prevalence among Black men. The findings in this study have potential implications for positive social change by bringing awareness about environmental-induced anxieties and the need to change unhealthy behaviors based on ethnic traditions, which may lower the prevalence rate of hypertension among Black men.

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