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 Men's Health Education and Resource Development - National Needs Assessment

Report prepared for Foundation 49, May 2007. Produced by Sarah Hardy, Health Education Consultant.

Key findings:

• It is evident there is significant gender inequities in access to men’s health education across Australia.
• It is crucial a national policy be developed to seek and guide allocation of any funds, resource development and direction in men’s health education. No state of territory in Australia has a current Men’s Health Policy document.
• Key organisations and individuals with men’s health expertise are frustrated at the lack of state and federal recognition on the importance of men’s health.

• Australian approaches to men’s health education are fragmented and remain at local (ie: community health) level. At times this education and support is being delivered by volunteers who are members of volunteer organisations and /or untrained professionals.
• The vast majority of education and resource development focuses on either relationships and parenting or prostate cancer.
• A significant number of education programs also focus on isolation, love, sexuality and personal development compared to biomedical aspects of health education.
• Biomedical aspects of men’s health education focus mainly on sexual and reproductive health and cancer screening. (prostate, testicular, bowel).
• Delivery of education is most effective when delivered onsite to workplaces and male-orientated environments.
• Education programs need to be available outside normal working hours.
• Males need to be more involved in delivery of men’s health education.
• It is reported and supported in the literature that men are more likely to attend a GP service if they have received some health education first that is relevant to them.
• Currently a Men’s Health in Society Distance Education package is being written. First tertiary based postgraduate men’s health education course in Australia.
• Only one university based undergraduate course is available on men’s health. This is an elective short course called Men’s Health Issues.
• Most of the participants are nursing and medical students due to the non- –existence of men’s health in these undergraduate courses. This course is available at the University of SA and has also been delivered at Curtin University in Perth, WA.
• Most of the programs offering men’s health education does not have an evaluation strategy in place.
• Very little literature on chronic disease, physical activity, heart health and healthy eating is specifically directed at men. Language is generic, impersonal and not ‘man-friendly’.