Illustration by Malcolm Garris/PhotoDisc

by Jane Erwin
October 15, 1998

When it comes to changing men’s attitudes about checkups and preventive measures, health professionals need to reach out to male patients and spend more time explaining the benefits, experts say.

"Healthcare professionals have to get more men to see their offices as a place to maintain wellness, not just a place to go when you’re sick," said Patrick Taylor, director of communications for Men’s Health magazine. A survey conducted for Men’s Health and CNN this summer found that one in 10 men, or approximately 7 million, have avoided getting regular health exams for more than a decade. More than 15 million men have not had a basic checkup in five years or more.

"Wellness to men is the gym or going mountain biking. It goes back to decades of the macho guy image and toughing it out when you are sick," Taylor said.

The survey also found gaps in preventive health activity between generations. While 52 percent of men 50 and over have been tested for heart disease, only 22 percent of men 35-49 had. And while 62 percent of men 50 or over had been tested for prostate cancer, only 34 percent of those 35-49 had been screened. Half of all the men surveyed said they have not been tested for high cholesterol, and three-fourths have not been checked for colon cancer.

Why they don’t go

Various factors influence whether men seek health care, according to Anne Cascarelli, PhD, director of the Rhonda Fleming Mann Resource Center at the UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center. "We need to consider their past experience in the healthcare system and with illness. Were their outcomes successful?" she said.

Cascarelli, a psychologist, said that when she worked with cancer patients at a Veterans Administration hospital, she found that many men had put off seeing a physician. When asked why, they said they hadn’t thought their problem was significant or had wanted to wait and see whether the problem would go away. Some hadn’t wanted to see a healthcare provider for fear of having a major health problem confirmed.

"So much depends individual psychology," Cascarelli said. "Some men realize they need certain tests or care as they age, and others think they don’t need it because ‘that’s for old guys.’ Healthcare professionals must keep stressing the benefits of exams and tests."

Into perspective

Health information needs to be put into language men can relate to, Taylor said. "Healthy means they’ll be more productive on the job or have more energy to do the things they like or be able to concentrate better or improve their performance. An article [in Men’s Health] that received great reader feedback last year was an economic approach to health, comparing such things as do you spend $700 on a new mountain bike or $50,000 on a coronary bypass operation."

Information does make a difference, said Arie Belldegrun, MD, professor of urology and chief of urologic oncology at the Cancer Center. Brochures, lectures, free exams, and other outreach efforts have helped lower the incidence of prostate cancer, he said.

"Almost every man knows another who’s had prostate cancer. When they hear that if you diagnose early, you have a cure, they pay attention."

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