Wednesday, November 10, 1999
Health fair targets men in the city
BY SUE MacDONALD
The Cincinnati Enquirer
If men won't go willingly to the doctor's office for regular checkups, the doctors and nurses in Walnut Hills and environs have decided to go to where the men are.
Flyers and brochures have been distributed and posted in African-American churches, barber shops and night spots to promote Saturday's First Annual Men's Health Fair in Walnut Hills for urban-living residents.
It's sponsored by the parish nurse program of Inner City Health Care, a non-profit organization that provides health and wellness programs to an inner-city population.
“We're in the churches as parish nurses, and we see what are men our not doing for themselves,” says Marsha Thomas, registered nurse and head of the parish nurse program. “We figure this is a way to get a captive audience. We definitely want to target our men, because we see the needs in our community.”
The four-hour health fair includes information on sexual impotence, high blood pressure and diabetes. Men also can undergo blood pressure screening, free PSA blood tests (prostate-specific antigen) to screen for prostate cancer and free blood glucose tests to screen for diabetes.
TriHealth has donated 100 PSA tests and Pfizer Pharmaceuticals has donated a continental breakfast for participants.
Many factors keep men from getting regular checkups, Ms. Thomas says.
“They're afraid. It involves fear, ego, a whole bunch of factors,” she says. “They don't want to find out anything is wrong. They all want to be thought of as virile men, even when they're having problems.”
In the parish nursing program, she and her colleagues see the effects on men's health, including higher-than-normal rates of prostate cancer among minority and Asian men, as well as the effects of diabetes and high blood pressure. Sometimes, diseases such as diabetes or high blood pressure, or the treatments offered for them, can cause side effects that include impotence and sexual dysfunction.
The health fair is intended as a non-threatening event where men can get information, undergo screening tests and learn about taking care of themselves so that they're not “putting a burden on the people who love them, who care for them and who eventually will become their caretakers.”
Participants include Inner City Health Care's Parish Nursing Program; Dr. Kent Robinson; Dr. Charles O. Dillard; Dr. Leroy Vickers; Dr. Emmett O'Neal; Dr. Don Shegog and Dr. James L. Kegler.
IF YOU GO
• What: First Annual Men's Health Fair
• When: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday
• Where: Inner City Health Care Inc., 791 E. McMillan, Walnut Hills
• Activities: Information on impotence, high blood pressure, prostate cancer and diabetes; free screenings for prostate cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure. Continental breakfast provided.
• Information: 961-5913
Pipe bomb, threat rattle high schools
Tug of war over a 'holy place'
Warm temperatures stay with us
Lawmaker to urge employee-gift ban
Prosecutor allegations need outside investigation
Hustler store faces new charges
Jews say Baptists' recruiting deceptive
Senate OKs tobacco money plan
Freeways a litter sore spot
Hospital tab a ticket to freedom
Magnet programs may be reduced
NKU basks in funding news
Pilarczyk recovering after angioplasty
Racist brochures litter Anderson
Rhodes, Luebbers consider county commission run
Union Twp. voters may dump name
Voinovich says he's for Bush
Health fair targets men in the city
New tools for diabetes
Online database helps blood supply
Girl Scout alternative
'Light It Up' shines beyond familiar fare
'Pokemon' only for the truly game
Regis cured Clifton trivia addict
Butler County faces Channel 2 blackout
Accused teacher won't be charged
Bank largess leads to Internet access
Club for mentally ill offers welcome
Court for mentally ill offenders advocated
Court refuses tower case
Detective: Suspect told about killing
Environmentalists: Utilities seek shield from clear air laws
Fernald back to work after anthrax scare
Fox highway just about ready
Kenton to install new storm sirens
Mason businesses to expand
Officer resigns after pleading guilty to drunken driving
Purchase in Norwood under cloud
TRISTATE DIGEST
Waste gripes heard
