Addressing men's health

It’s the time of year when we focus on men’s health. (June is Men’s Health Month in the United States.) Far too many men fail to seek early detection and treatment of disease. For them, it is much easier to ignore a potential health problem than to address it. Lack of media attention on men’s health only exacerbates the problem.

I am not alone in grappling with how best to motivate men to abandon notions that keep them from seeking out health care. I am confident many of you have male family members and friends who are adept at disregarding your attempts to put them in touch with primary health care providers. So what is the best strategy to use to increase men’s compliance with having yearly physical exams?

Coercion and fear not the answer
It is best to avoid coercive tactics, because they don’t work. And don’t use fear as a motivator, because, for some, fear is the very reason they don’t seek out a primary-care provider in the first place. Using these types of messages only defeats the purpose.

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I have found that an effective strategy is a pragmatic approach, such as making this time of year an annual celebration of health. For example, in conversations I’ve had with various male audiences, I’ve learned they are more likely to go to a doctor if making an appointment becomes routine, or if a buddy encourages them to nip any potential health problem in the bud.

Like women, men care about their health and want long and prosperous lives, but the challenge is to get past the fear of finding that something is wrong, which, in their minds, translates to, “I won’t be able to provide for my family or take care of myself.” Whether such a negative prospect is real or perceived, it’s important to recognize that this belief is very real to them, and should not be disregarded.

Men helping men
One strategy is to meet men where they are. For example, a great way to spark dialogue is to hold health fairs in health clubs, churches, and barbershops. The objective is to keep the conversation light, but substantive. Another helpful tactic for recruiting men to dialogue about their health is to engage the help of male leaders in the community.

Men talking to men—either one on one or in a group—can be a powerful way to encourage discourse about health issues. To be effective, the messages need to be appropriately tailored to the audience. For example, college-age men need to learn about the importance of screening for testicular cancer and how to conduct self-examinations, because this age group is at the highest risk for this health problem. Again, it’s prudent to educate and then deploy college-age males to host health parties where they can discuss how critical it is to pursue early detection.

In my experience, utilizing men to engage other men in discussing health issues is a powerful approach that usually results in behavior change. When designing men’s health campaigns, we need to involve men in our efforts. Unfortunately, some men’s health programs focus too much on potential adverse outcomes rather than communicating effective prevention strategies. 

Do you have an effective approach?
Consider how you might engage men for participation in early detection and annual screenings. Clearly, ignoring one’s health only leads to higher health care costs, costs that early detection can largely prevent.

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. Comments are moderated. Those that promote products or services will not be posted.