The “Florida Man” collectively refers to male individuals involved in bizarre events and weird crimes across the state of Florida. The term was popularized almost a decade ago with viral news headlines and social media memes and is the object of constant mockery of the often unbelievable and sometimes comical actions of its residents. State policy allowing immediate public access to crime reports drives the mechanism of the “Florida Man” trend, but also highlights the prevalence of critical public health issues associated with these stories.
This Open Classroom frames the “Florida Man” from a public health perspective with a focus on trends in mental illness, substance use, and injuries and emphasizes the importance of prevention and harm reduction interventions to quell the pervasiveness of these events.

Hosted by Andrea Nevins Ph.D., M.F.A.

Faculty: Christi M. Navarro, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Public Health, Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine

The Open Classroom series is a collaboration between the Farquhar Honors College and the Alvin Sherman Library.