An African-american and Latino Male Lay Health Advisor (lha) Program: How Confidant-lha Relationship Interdependence and Lha Preventive Health Behaviors Impact Confidant Preventive Health Behaviors

ANH NHAT TRAN An African-American and Latino Male Lay Health Advisor (LHA) Program: How Confidant-LHA Relationship Interdependence and LHA Preventive Health Behaviors Impact Confidant Preventive Health Behaviors (Under the direction of Eugenia Eng) INTRODUCTION: In the United States, many men of color experience poor health outcomes and confront serious healthcare obstacles. Yet, little research and few interventions have addressed men’s relationships and their influence on healthcare behaviors. METHODS: This study analyzed a male lay health advisor (LHA) intervention dataset with 227 North Carolina African-American and Latino LHAs and their “Confidants” (men they reached). This study aimed to: (1) examine racial/ethnic differences in ConfidantLHA relationship interdependence properties, (2) assess the concordance of data obtained from three one-item closeness measures, and (3) test Confidant-LHA relationship interdependence and LHA preventive health behavior effects on Confidant preventive health behaviors. These behaviors included healthcare visits, fruit and vegetable consumption, and condom use frequency. Relationship properties were diversity, length, interaction, and closeness. Closeness measures included the Inclusion of Others in Self (IOS) pictorial scale, an adapted, and a verbal equivalent IOS scale. Kendall’s tau test evaluated correspondence among three closeness measures. Hierarchical generalized linear regression analyses tested association between covariates and Confidant preventive health behaviors. RESULTS: No racial/ethnic differences were found for any relationship property mean values, other than interaction frequency. Latinos interacted with one another more