New Zealand men’s health care: are we meeting the needs of men in general practice?

Abstract

AIM: To describe and compare how men and health professionals perceive men’s health and health care. METHOD: A qualitative study with an inductive thematic analysis of transcripts from three sequential sets of focus groups. The first set included groups totalling 21 general practitioners and 10 practice nurses; the second set with a group of 12 men under 25 years and a group of 10 older men over 35 years; and the third set with the original groups of health professionals. Datasets were analysed individually, sequentially and comparatively for men’s and health professionals’ beliefs about health and health care. RESULTS: In the initial focus groups, health professionals reported system, structural, and attitudinal barriers inhibiting men attending general practice. Men reported broad-based health beliefs and, despite reluctance to seek formal health care, men value general practice care and want recognition of their preferred consulting styles. In the final focus groups, researchers fed-back analysis of the health professionals’ and men’s focus group data with the aim of encouraging further focussed men’s health initiatives. However, there was a general lack of enthusiasm from health professionals to do more than what was being done already. CONCLUSIONS: Despite men and health professionals recognising the importance of men’s health, there is general unwillingness on the part of both men and health professionals, for different reasons, to engage with men’s health care in general practice. Understanding how men view health and health care delivery has the potential to inform alternative approaches in general practice care. KEYWORDS: New Zealand; men’s health; general practice; general practitioner; practice nurse