Poverty, Race, and the Invisible Men

Improving access to primary health care by the poor, the underserved, and those living at the economic and social margins of this nation’s social construct has been work that the W. K. Kellogg Foundation has pursued rigorously and with deep commitment. We have worked to lead and serve as we supported health clinics, as well as to define, refine, and implement pathways to improve health for many. But like most, we have neglected a significant part of the population most in need of health care. We were blind to the fact that when we visited clinics and worked with communities to address their health needs, there were few men in the waiting rooms of the clinics where primary health and prevention services were being provided. Virtually no health efforts were directed toward men. Poor men had become invisible and their health needs neglected.