References
Men's health inequalities: a local, national and global issue
Abstract
In many key areas, men's health outcomes are worse than women's. Ian Peate discusses the reasons for these health inequalities and how the practice nurse can help to erradicate them
In many key areas, men's health outcomes are worse than women's. In the UK, there has been no strategic response to men's health needs at a national or local level. The chief causes for these differences in health outcomes are associated with men's risk taking behaviours, such as alcohol use, diet, and smoking, non-communicable diseases, and under-use of health services. When there are ‘gender-sensitive’ health interventions that have been aimed specifically at men, these have been shown to improve men's outcomes. Taking seriously the unique needs of men in policy development, implementation and evaluation, including further expansion of nurse-led initiatives, has the potential to make a difference to men's health.
The issue of men's health merits specific attention as evidence grows regarding epidemiological differences that are observed between men and women. This is particularly related to men's premature mortality, which is associated with non-communicable diseases, and the morbidity related to men's health-seeking behaviours, their mental health and wellbeing, and violence.
In many key areas, men's health outcomes are worse than women's. The chief causes of men's poor health are associated with their risk-taking behaviours (eg alcohol, diet, smoking) and their under-use of health services. With regards to cancer, men are less aware than their female counterparts regarding the symptoms of potentially significant problems. In the UK, for 2016–2018, life expectancy at age 65 years was 18.6 years for men and 21.0 years for women (Office for National Statistics, 2019).
In the UK, unlike some other countries, there has been no strategic response to men's health problems. There is no national or local policy, and joint strategic needs assessments have not addressed gender as well as they could and should have done.
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