As a physician who has dedicated my career to serving communities of color, I’ve seen firsthand how medical distrust, stigma, and lack of preventive care have impacted Black men’s health outcomes. Coming from a family of servant leaders—nurses and preachers—I knew from the age of five that I wanted to be a doctor, filling a gap in our family and eventually in our healthcare system.
The Unseen Barriers to Black Men’s Health
Unlike women, who often have reproductive health as a natural segue into healthcare, men, particularly Black men, lack this built-in entry point. This disconnect becomes evident in conversations about preventive screenings, where medical distrust looms large. Many Black men have witnessed family members enter a doctor’s office for a routine checkup only to leave with a devastating diagnosis. This creates a psychological barrier that prevents many from seeking care until symptoms become severe.
Additionally, the shortage of Black physicians in America compounds this issue. With ongoing challenges to diversity initiatives in healthcare education, many Black men will never have the opportunity to see a doctor who looks like them or understands their cultural context.
Addressing HIV in Our Communities
My passion for HIV medicine began when one of my best friends was diagnosed while I was in medical school. Living in Atlanta at the time, I saw numerous Black gay men receiving diagnoses, which motivated me to devote my career to addressing this crisis affecting my community.
Despite medical advances, stigma remains pervasive. I remember a young Black gay man I treated who
hadn’t been intimate with anyone for over a year because he felt uncomfortable disclosing his HIV status. Despite being undetectable and unable to transmit the virus, he isolated himself completely—a powerful reminder that medical treatment alone isn’t enough without addressing the psychological burden of diagnosis.
This is why I discuss PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) as a standard part of prevention conversations with all patients, regardless of sexual orientation. Breaking down barriers to these discussions means approaching them with compassion and detailed information about efficacy, side effects, and testing protocols.
Men’s Health Beyond HIV
My focus on men’s health broadened after witnessing men in my own family lose their lives early from preventable causes. These experiences, coupled with losing a medical school classmate to AIDS complications despite his medical knowledge, highlighted how stigma and denial can override education.
This led me to write a comprehensive guide to men’s health that serves as a tool men can bring to doctor appointments. The book addresses screenings, vaccinations, and topics men should discuss with their healthcare providers, designed to empower both health-conscious individuals and those who rarely see doctors.
A Tip for Healthcare Providers Treating Black Men
One practical tip I share with everyone: use your birthday as an annual reminder to contact your doctor about necessary screenings. Just as you renew car tags or plan celebrations, make your health a priority on this date. This simple habit can transform preventive care from an afterthought to a regular practice.
For Black men specifically, I emphasize that early detection means early intervention. Getting screened regularly doesn’t just catch problems—it can prevent the need for medications and more serious interventions down the line. When we catch high blood pressure or diabetes early, we can often address these issues through lifestyle modifications before they require pharmaceutical intervention or lead to complications.
By encouraging young men to establish relationships with healthcare providers as early as age 18, we can normalize preventive care and potentially reverse generations of health disparities in our communities.
Dr. Leo Moore, MD, MSHPM, AAHIVE, DipIBLM is a board-certified physician with over 15 years of experience in internal medicine, HIV medicine, and lifestyle medicine. He is a medical graduate of Morehouse School of Medicine and completed his Primary Care Internal Medicine residency at Yale University School of Medicine. He is also an alumnus of the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program through which he completed his Master of Science in Health Policy and Management at the University of California, Los Angeles. As a trusted public health voice, Dr. Moore is passionate about advancing men’s health, ending the HIV epidemic, and eliminating health disparities in underserved communities.