Practice Overview
GRAS
Challenges
Countries Relevant
Learn More
This study aimed to identify the perceived motivators, barriers and enablers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men’s utilization of primary health care services, explore their experiences and obtain suggestions from them as to how services could be modified to improve utilization. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men have the highest morbidity and mortality rates, and lowest rates of health service utilization in Australia. There is a current perception that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men are disinterested in their health. However the study found that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men were not disinterested in their health and identified a range of barriers as well as facilitators which if addressed could make a difference to men’s use of health services
Gender specific. The study illustrates how considering gender norms, roles and relations in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men might make a difference to their use of health services. For example, the men said that having a provider of the same gender makes a difference to their willingness to use health services. Furthermore, some of the men’s suggestions for improving health services are gender-specific in that they would make it easier for men to fulfil their duties as ascribed via their gender roles. For example, improving service accessibility by increasing opening hours, bringing services to men or giving them paid time to see the doctors and providing incentives for check-ups.
The study also contributes to beginning to address a gap in knowledge about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men’s health, attitudes and behaviors. It highlights both the heterogeneity of Australian Indigenous men as a group and brings into question the idea that they are ‘disinterested’ in their health. In this way it contributes to addressing a gender-bias in research. Another good practice of the study is asking, listening to and collaborating with ATSI men about their experience and how they wan tto be engaged. It is also an example of how gender-analysis of sex-disaggregated data i.e. going beyond the descriptive data that shows that men have worse health than women and that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men have worse health than non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men can be used to develop a more specific/nuanced understanding of why and how interventions might be improved.
Uptake of findings into practice and implementation
Developing a better understanding of how men usehealth services, and in particular men who have worse health outcomes compared to other men. It is likely to be of relevance to countries with Indigenou sand or multi-ethnic populations particularly for monitoring of SDG goals and targets with a focus on leaving no one behind. Linked to this it is also relevant for countries interested in undertaking human rights based assessment of ther ight to health, and reporting on related Conventions and Treaties.
In particular the study showed that Aboriginal men were interested in their health and taking care of it, but specific interventions were needed to address gender norms and make the services more gender-responsive to men’s needs.Gender analysis is a key step in health gender mainstreaming efforts–one that often gets overlooked
For this article see- https://equityhealthj.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12939-018-0902-1
See also commentary by the same authors about listening to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1753-6405.12922
Feedback
