My first research paper I published back in 2021, examined the availability of men’s health promotional literature in health waiting rooms.
Background to the Men’s Health in Waiting Rooms research
The idea for this research was planted when I was sitting in the waiting room of a community health centre I was working in, and I couldn’t locate more than 3 health pamphlets relating to men but could see plenty of female-specific content.
That sparked my curiosity in examining whether other health facilities such as GP waiting rooms also had a disproportionate ratio of male to female health promotional material.
Men’s Health Promotion in Waiting Rooms
The aim of this study where to examine the presence of male-specific health promotions in health facility waiting rooms within a New South Wales Local Government Area (LGA).
Study Design
From 25 eligible sites, 24 participated in this study.
The sites comprised of – 2 hospitals, 3 community health centres and 19 GP clinics.
Only printed health promotional materials, that is, posters, brochures or booklets, were considered observable data in this audit.
The process of identifying and then categorising printed health material was determined by an explicit mention of either male or female, where conditions or diseases specifically unique to a particular sex are implicit (e.g. prostate cancer for males, ovarian cancer for females).
Results of the Men’s Health Promotion in Waiting Rooms survey
A total of 1143 health materials were audited across the sites.
The findings revealed a 5:1 ratio favouring female-specific literature compared to male-specific literature.
Male-specific health promotional content across all sites and across all printed mediums was the lowest at 3.15%, compared to females at 15.31% and neutral/other at 81.54%.
Given that males make up approximately half the Australian population and account for over half (53%) of the total burden of disease, the prevalence of male-specific health promotion material would appear inadequate.
Real Men’s Health Takeaway
This observational study is the first of its kind to examine the presence of male-specific health promotions in health facility waiting rooms.
There remains potential for health clinicians to provide targeted male health education and thereby improve male health literacy.
This research paper (in full) can be accessed at the International Journal of Men’s Social and Community Health (Vol.4, issue 1).
