Scientific evidence suggests that exposure to potentially harmful environmental chemicals can lead to male infertility. Black men are more likely to be exposed to such environmental toxins because they often live in neighborhoods that contain environmental hazards including air pollution and industrial chemicals. Yet U.S. studies have focused on white participants and rarely include discussions with black men to find out their views on this important health problem.
A study published Jan. 23 in the American Journal of Men’s Health by researchers at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) fills in some of those gaps in knowledge.
Melissa Perry, ScD, MHS, professor and chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health; Nathan McCray, MPH, a research associate in Milken Institute SPH’s Department of Environmental and Occupational Health; and the research team recruited black men in Washington, DC, to participate in focus groups discussing the topic of environmental chemicals and reproductive health.
"It stood out to me how favorable the men were toward participating in this study and in health research generally," said McCray, who is an alumnus of the school’s Master of Public Health program. "To me, this spoke to the need to strive to include underrepresented voices and groups in environmental health studies."
The team held three focus groups — all facilitated by a black, male researcher who asked open-ended questions about environmental health and fertility. The research team reviewed and coded audio recordings of the sessions to analyze the data.
The team found that most of the men were very concerned about the exposures to pollutants in the air, water and environment around them. They attributed much of the pollution in their neighborhoods to development and gentrification. At the same time, many also said that they considered infertility to be a threat to manhood and a taboo topic in the African American community.
Most of the participants said they felt overwhelmed and had difficulty coping with the exposure to pollutants in their urban neighborhoods.
Asked whether they would participate in a hypothetical study on environmental health and fertility that involved providing a sperm sample, some participants expressed concerns and said they would need to be fully informed of how samples would be used before they felt comfortable participating.
Perry says that to generate new and inclusive knowledge about how the environment is affecting male fertility, researchers should work to include men of color in their studies. Asking community members for their perspectives to inform the research is a good first start, along with using culturally sensitive recruitment strategies to encourage black men to participate in studies on fertility and environmental health topics, she added.
The study, “Talking about Public Health with African American Men: Perceptions of Environmental Health and Infertility,” was published Jan. 23 in the American Journal of Men’s Health.