Health Promotion Program for Men

Men 's health and well being is one of the contemporary issues amongst health care providers. There is an increasing number of people involving general practitioners, nurses, community health workers, psychologists, social workers, men 's focus groups and members of the general community who are questioning and attending to issues related to the health and well being of men. There is a growing concern of a well known fact that health outcomes of men are generally poorer than that of women, which is especially the case in industrialised countries (Smith, Mayer and Wittert, 2006). The reason being that men do not access health care services as frequently as women do (Gorski and McKelley, 2010), and the instances whereby they do seek health care services, it is when an illness has become very severe, or the associated pain of an illness has become unbearable, preventing them from performing their activities of daily living (The Royal College of General Practitioners [RACGP], 2006). There are a number of factors that have been identified that act as barriers for men in seeking health care services.

There have been several studies conducted to fathom men 's perceptions and reluctance towards seeking and accessing health care services, and as a result, one of the major themes illuminated is the tendency of most of the male population to adopt and act on the traditional behavioural model of masculinity towards seeking and accessing health care services. This masculine behavioural model requires a man to be unemotional towards sickness and injuries sustained, as expression of emotions are believed to be a waste of time and a weakness, to consume alcohol excessively, smoke, use illegal drugs, be physically violent and engage in risky sexual activities, which are found to be acceptable and expected male behaviours in society, thereby increasing their vulnerability to the risk of adverse health outcomes (Gorski, and McKelley, 2010; Mahalik, Lagan, and Morrison, 2006;

References: Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2007). 4364.0 – National Health Survey: Summary of results. Http://www.abs.gov.au./ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4364.0/ : Retrieved 28 September, 2012. Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, (2010). National Male Health Policy. Http://www.health.gov.au./internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/male-policy : Retrieved 29 September, 2012. Gorski, E., McKelley, R. (2010). Stoic, Stubborn, or Sensitive: How masculinity affects men 's help-seeking and help-referring behaviours. Journal of Undergraduate Research XIII. University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Mahalik, J.R., and Hines, D.A., (2011). The Status of Men 's Physical Health: A cause for concern for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise. Mahalik, J.R., Lagan, H.D., and Morrison, J.A., (2006). Health behaviours and masculinity in Kenyan and U.S male college students. Psychology of Men and Masculinity, 7(4): p. 191-202. Mikkonen, J., and Raphael, D., (2010). Social Determinants of Health: The Canadian Facts. Toronto: York University School of Health Policy and Management. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners ', (2006). 48th RACGP Council Position Statement on the Role of General Practitioners in Delivering Health Care to Australian Men. The Sydney Morning Herald, (2011). Is the Health System Failing Men. National Times. Sydney: Australia.