Enhancing Men's Health

Chapter 7: Enhancing Men's Health 

Description:

At present in Australia, men are obviously much less healthy than women, in terms of both mortality and morbidity. Of course, gender comparisons are not all that useful, but they do demonstrate dramatically the nature of the men's health problem, and they do need consideration in the allocation of medical and other resources. Let me just make a few points about the current state of affairs: At birth, males have a life expectancy some 6 years less than females; a higher incidence and higher death rate from virtually all illnesses (except breast cancer and ailments of the female reproductive system); males account for 80 per cent of all suicides in Australia; they account for 95 per cent of the prison population; and males have some 95 per cent of workplace fatalities and permanent disabilities from workplace injuries.

At the same time, we must remember that some aspects of men's health are improving and that most aspects of this improvement are due to social and cultural change: men spend much less time in smoke-filled bars drinking excessive amounts of beer; work conditions occasion less physical risk; and nutrition is generally better. However, on the other hand, with the rise of economic rationalism and the associated managerialism, men are subject to immense increases in stress.

Topics:

• Introduction
• Personal and social relationships
• Life-interests and commitment
• Physical activity and wellness
• Keeping in a good mood
• Coherence in life
• Note
• References

Author:

Elery Hamilton-Smith
Professor and Honorary Research Fellow, Lincoln Gerontology Centre, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia

Elery Hamilton-Smith has more than 45 years' experience in social research and social planning, having worked at the community level,  then as a social planning consultant across some 25 countries and, eventually, as a member of the Leisure Studies Department at Preston (later Phillip) Institute of Technology, which is now part of RMIT University in Melbourne. Elery has wide-ranging interests in social policy and social development, has been a visiting professor at many universities in North America and Europe and is currently a professor at the International Centre of Excellence at the University of Wageningen in the Netherlands.

Elery's long-standing interest in leisure services led to his involvement in a research program on improving the lot of people with a dementing illness. That research culminated in the development of the ELTOS (Enhanced Living Through Optimal Stimulus) theory and the book Rethinking Dementia — an Australian approach (of which he was joint Editor) with its companion kit Teaching About Dementia, both of which have sold widely in Australia and are now beginning to penetrate overseas. Elery describes himself as 'a sociologist by discipline, interested in almost everything, including social theory and research methods, parks and speleology'.

Professional Reviews: