What men really want: A qualitative investigation of men's health needs from the Halton and St Helens Primary Care Trust men's health promotion project

Coles, Rebecca; Watkins, Francine; Swami, Viren; Jones, Susan; Woolf, Susan; Stanistreet, Debbi

doi:10.1348/135910710x494583

Cited by 48 publications

(83 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…I got somebody in, it was on men specific cancers, and this lady came and gave a PowerPoint presentation. Evidence here supports previous work that recognises how the structural embedding of health as a 'feminised' concept (Robertson, 2007: 139) can create problems in addressing 'health' directly within health promotion initiatives for men (Coles et al 2010). Recognising this, listening to the men's views, their motivations for attending, and adjusting projects accordingly, was clearly key to building trust, sustaining engagement and thereby facilitating change.…”

Section: Developing and Sustaining Trustsupporting

confidence: 81%

‘It is fun, fitness and football really’: a process evaluation of a football-based health intervention for men

Robertson

Zwolinsky

Pringle

et al. 2013

Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health

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Concerns about gender inequalities in longevity, particularly premature male mortality, have prompted a range of innovative approaches to health promotion work with men dating back to the 1980s. In developing such work, sport, and football in particular, has emerged as a gendered cultural field that has utility for engaging men in health initiatives. Evaluations of such work, whilst few in number, have shown that health initiatives using football settings, football based interventions, or even football club branding, can have positive impact on various health measures in the short and the longer term. However, little work to date has looked at the underlying mechanisms that generate success in such projects. This paper presents secondary analysis of data collected during the evaluation of the Premier League Health (PLH) programme specifically focusing on these underlying mechanisms and how/where gender (masculinities) appears in these processes. We draw on interview data with sixteen staff who had been involved in the delivery of the PLH initiative and fifty-eight men who took part. Thematic analysis highlighted two overarching (and underpinning) themes: 'Trust', what processes it was key to and how it was developed and sustained; 'Change', including what it was facilitated by and what impact it had. The paper adds to our understanding of how active listening, flexibility and sustained engagement are key to sports based projects generating success. Furthermore, it demonstrates how the physicality and sociability of involvement, rather than any direct focus on 'health' was important in acting as a spring-board for facilitating reflection and aiding lifestyle changes for the men in line with PLH programme desired outcomes.

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Section: Developing and Sustaining Trustsupporting

confidence: 81%

‘It is fun, fitness and football really’: a process evaluation of a football-based health intervention for men

Robertson

Zwolinsky

Pringle

et al. 2013

Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health

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“…Shortcomings in the resources and supports available to service providers are also noted in the literature as barriers to providing meaningful and effective services for men (Carroll et al, 2014;Coles et al, 2010;Heenan, 2004;Kirwan et al, 2013;Monaem et al, 2007;L. M. Robertson, Douglas, Ludbrook, Reid, & Van Teijingen, 2008;S.…”

Section: Research-article2015mentioning

confidence: 99%

“If We Want to Get Men in, Then We Need to Ask Men What They Want”: Pathways to Effective Health Programing for Men

2015

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In Ireland, men's health is becoming a priority. In line with global trends, indicators of poor mental health (including rates of depression and suicide) are increasing alongside rates of unemployment and social isolation. Despite the growing awareness of men's health as a national priority, and development of the first National Men's Health Policy in the world, there is still a concern about men's nonengagement with health services. Health and community services often struggle to appropriately accommodate men, and men commonly avoid health spaces. A growing body of literature suggests that a persistent lack of support or resources for service providers contributes to their inability to identify and meet men's unique health needs. This study aims to provide further insight into the ways in which this gap between men and health services can be closed. Semistructured, qualitative interviews were conducted with nine project partners (n = 9) of a successful men's health program in Dublin. Interviews captured reflections on what processes or strategies contribute to effective men's health programs. Findings suggest that gender-specific strategies-especially related to community-engagement and capacity building-are necessary in creating health programs that both promote men's health and enable men to safely and comfortably participate. Moreover, including men in all aspects of the planning stages helps ensure that programs are accessible and acceptable for men. These findings have been operationalized into a user-driven resource that illustrates evidence-informed strategies and guiding principles that can be used by practitioners hoping to engage with men.

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“…Findings also identify that health professionals typically used a direct approach when discussing obesity and exercise with men and a more cautious approach with women. The adoption of such an approach with men is contrary to the findings of Michie (2007) and Coles et al (2010), who highlight how feelings of stress, embarrassment and fear, during consultation may result in low male attendance at health clinics. Both of the approaches (direct and cautious) used by the health professionals in this study were based on their gender-specific views of their patients.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…The notion that GPs can hold preconceived views about male behaviours has also been highlighted by Hale et al (2010), who found that GPs thought that male stoical behaviour may prevent men seeking help with chronic medical conditions. However, such views have been challenged by Coles et al (2010), who found that men generally wanted to access medical services but were inhibited due to a lack of experience at accessing those services.…”

Section: Causal Condition -Health Professionals' Viewsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hale et al (2010) found that some GPs believed that male patients may be reluctant to seek help until late in the course of an illness on account of the fact that they might be perceived as being 'unmanly' if they attended a consultation too early on. Other explanations that have been put forward for men not seeking help include the lack of routine checks available compared to those available to women, along with complicated appointment systems (Coles et al, 2010). Connell (2005) suggests that the greatest difficulty to overcome in relation to effectively engaging men in preventive healthcare are the narrow or stereotypical (hegemonic masculine)…”

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confidence: 99%

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Gender perceptions and their impact when referring obese patients for exercise

Queen

Parker

Crone

2016

Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health

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Abstract:Obesity trends in the UK have shown a steady increase over the past 20 years, yet differences have been identified in the uptake and adherence data for obese men and women attending exercise referral schemes (ERS). Moreover, evidence suggests that health professionals (HPs) may hold preconceived gender specific views about their patients and this has been identified as a potential barrier to male patients seeking help from their GPs for chronic conditions. The aim of this paper is to examine the gender dynamics associated with health profession/patient interactions in relation to the uptake of an ERS for obese patients.The ERS in question was based in a Primary Care Health Centre in the South West of England. The respondent cohort comprised 12 patients (8 women, 4 men) aged 55-74 years and their 6 referring HPs (4 women, 2 men). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients and HPs over an eight month period and the data were analysed via a grounded theory approach. The study found that HP gender specific perceptions of their patients had an impact on the methods used to encourage patients to participate. HPs typically adopted a direct interactional approach with obese men and a more cautious approach with obese women. Irrespective of gender, male and female patients found being informed of their obesity difficult to accept. The paper concludes that there is a need for a degree of care to be taken when communicating such health concerns and that this kind of approach may lead to increased ERS attendance (and adherence) by men.

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What men really want: A qualitative investigation of men's health needs from the Halton and St Helens Primary Care Trust men's health promotion project

Abstract: These results have practical implications for the way in which health promotion interventions target men, which we discuss in conclusion.

Cited by 48 publications

References 55 publications

‘It is fun, fitness and football really’: a process evaluation of a football-based health intervention for men

‘It is fun, fitness and football really’: a process evaluation of a football-based health intervention for men

“If We Want to Get Men in, Then We Need to Ask Men What They Want”: Pathways to Effective Health Programing for Men

Gender perceptions and their impact when referring obese patients for exercise

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