Rethinking Health Promotion

265 Brief communication RETHINKING HEALTH PROMOTION To the editor: I was struck by Dr. Louis Sullivan's suggestion [Vol. 1, No. 1:3-8] that no matter how much health care we try to administer to people, we can do nothing if they refuse to take some responsibility for their own lives. When I retired from nursing, I still wanted to do something to lower the terrible morbidity and mortality rates among African-Americans. From my almost thirty years in the profession, I was well aware that many of our people do not seek intervention until it is too late to help them. I thought one way to reach black men and women might be to hold a health fair specifically geared to the needs of this population, and staffed entirely by black or other minority professionals. After a great deal of planning, I arranged an event that included eye, dental, and breast exams; information on the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program; mental health services; and blood pressure and numerous other screenings. I lined up black opthalmologists, interns, and residents, and numerous other health professionals from New England's finest hospitals. But despite all manner of publicity, only about 50 people attended. We had more professionals than participants. This disinterest has remained consistent during a second health fair; a seminar exploring the medical, social, and religious aspects of AIDS; and a drug seminar geared mainly to the young people of the community. I am not the only person to be disappointed by such poor turnouts. ABC medical correspondent Dr. Tim Johnson held a series of free health fairs in various Boston neighborhoods a few years ago, but they were eventually discontinued due to the lack of interest among the black community. Even when assistance is free, we seem unable to inspire people to take advantage of information we are desperately trying to give them. I don't know the answer to this apparent apathy and indifference, but if those of us in health promotion could solve this dilemma, I believe it would open the door to remarkable changes in the health profiles of America's poor and underserved. What is the nature of this problem? Does the responsibility for these failures lie with the community? Do we need to consider ways to motivate a seemingly listless populace to care more about itself? Or are health professionals the obstacle? Is our approach misdirected? Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, Vol. 1, No. 3, Winter 1990 266__________________________________________________________ Outdated? Do we need to rethink the incentive (better health) that we offer? Are we offering information that people consider irrelevant? Are we using ineffective publicity? Surely there must be ways to reach the people who so desperately need health care. If readers with creative approaches to this problem would be kind enough to share their insights by writing the Journal, health promotion efforts across the country would surely benefit. —Osberta L. Harris, R.N. 730 Park Avenue Revere, Massachusetts 02151-3326 ...