{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T00:51:56Z","timestamp":1777855916675,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,7,1]],"date-time":"2020-07-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1593561600000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000025","name":"National Institute of Mental Health","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["5R01MH096657"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["5R01MH096657"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000025","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Am J Mens Health"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2020,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Interventionists often prioritize quantitative evaluation criteria such as design (e.g., randomized controlled trials), delivery fidelity, and outcome effects to assess the success of an intervention. Albeit important, criteria such as these obscure other key metrics of success such as the role of the interactions between participants and intervention deliverers, or contextual factors that shape an intervention\u2019s activities and outcomes. In line with advocacy to expand evaluation criteria for health interventions, we designed this qualitative study to examine how a subsample of Black men in MEN Count, an HIV\/STI risk reduction and healthy relationship intervention with employment and housing stability case management for Black men in Washington, DC, defined the intervention\u2019s success. We also examined the contextual factors that shaped participation in the study\u2019s peer counseling sessions. We conducted structured interviews with 38 Black men, ages 18 to 60 years ( M = 31.1, SD = 9.33) who completed at least one of three peer counseling sessions. Analyses highlighted three key themes: (a) the favorable impact of Mr. Stroman, the lead peer counselor, on participants\u2019 willingness to participate in MEN Count and disclose their challenges\u2014we dubbed this the \u201cStroman Effect\u201d; (b) the importance of Black men intervention deliverers with relatable life experiences; and (c) how contextual factors such as the HIV\/AIDS epidemic, needs for housing and employment services and safe spaces to talk about challenges, and absentee fathers shaped participation. We discuss the study\u2019s implications for sustainable programs after funding ends and future multilevel health interventions to promote health equity for poor urban Black men.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/1557988320943352","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,7,22]],"date-time":"2020-07-22T02:50:03Z","timestamp":1595386203000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["The Stroman Effect: Participants in MEN Count, an HIV\/STI Reduction Intervention for Unemployed and Unstably Housed Black Heterosexual Men, Define Its Most Successful Elements"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4677-8195","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lisa","family":"Bowleg","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jenn\u00e9 S.","family":"Massie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sidney L.","family":"Holt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Cheriko A.","family":"Boone","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mary","family":"Mbaba","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Wayne A.","family":"Stroman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Emery Work Bed Program, Coalition for the Homeless, Inc., Washington, DC, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Lianne","family":"Urada","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health Sciences, University of San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Anita","family":"Raj","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Health Sciences, University of San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,7,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"bibr1-1557988320943352","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/01.qai.0000191382.62070.a5"},{"key":"bibr2-1557988320943352","volume-title":"Code of the street: Decency, violence, and the moral life of the inner city","author":"Anderson E.","year":"1999"},{"key":"bibr3-1557988320943352","first-page":"128","volume-title":"Primary prevention of AIDS: Psychological approaches","author":"Bandura A.","year":"1989"},{"key":"bibr4-1557988320943352","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Bhalotra S., Kambhampati U., Rawlings S., Siddique Z. 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