HEA 3060 Module 1 Masculinity and Help-Seeking Paper: Why Men See Doctors Less Often Example

Fine Until He Isn't: Masculinity, Work and an Eight-Year Gap Between Checkups

Student Name

B.S. in Health Studies, Thomas Edison State University

HEA-3060: Men's Health

Mentor Name

Month Day, Year

Fine Until He Isn't: Masculinity, Work and an Eight-Year Gap Between Checkups

Introduction

Men in the United States live about five fewer years than women, and they die at higher rates from heart disease, cancer, accidents and suicide. Part of this gap reflects biology and part reflects dangerous work, but part reflects how men use health care. Fewer men than women name a usual doctor or clinic, keep preventive visits or mention symptoms early. This paper asks why, using one invented man's story and three sources that explain men's help seeking in different ways.

The Man

Mike is invented for this paper. He is 44, owns a two-bay auto repair shop in Toms River and works six days a week. His last doctor visit was eight years ago, for stitches after a cut at work. He has gained weight, gets winded on stairs and has had heartburn most nights for a year, which he treats with antacids from the gas station. His wife has asked him to see a doctor several times. His answer is always the same: he feels fine, he cannot close the shop and doctors only find things to worry about.

Masculinity as Something Men Do

Courtenay (2000) argued that masculinity is not simply a trait men have but something they demonstrate through daily actions, including actions that affect health. Dismissing pain, refusing help, taking physical risks and claiming never to be sick are ways that some men show they are strong and independent. These practices are rewarded in many workplaces and peer groups. Courtenay also noted that health institutions reinforce these patterns, for example by treating women as the main users of preventive care and by offering few services aimed at men.

Mike's statements fit this account. Saying that he feels fine and that he cannot close the shop presents him as tough and responsible. Seeing a doctor for heartburn and breathlessness would mean admitting weakness, at least in his own eyes.

Help Seeking Depends on Context

Addis and Mahalik (2003) agreed that masculine norms shape help seeking but warned against treating all men as the same. They argued that whether a man seeks help depends on how he sees the problem and the setting. Men are more likely to seek help when the problem seems normal and shared by other men, when the helper seems similar to them, when seeking help does not threaten their sense of control and when they will not lose face with people whose opinion matters. A man who would never call a therapist might talk freely to a coach or a pharmacist.

This framework suggests that Mike's avoidance is not fixed. If seeing a doctor were framed as routine maintenance, the way he would describe a car's inspection, and if the visit fit around his work, he might go.

How Large the Gap Is

Wang et al. (2013) analyzed millions of consultations recorded in UK general practices, where visits cost patients nothing. Men consulted about 32 percent less often than women overall. The gap was largest between ages 16 and 60 and narrowed but did not disappear when consultations related to pregnancy, contraception and other reproductive care were removed. Because cost was not a barrier, the authors concluded that the difference reflected more than access, though they noted that some of it may reflect real differences in health needs.

Work and Access

Mike's avoidance also has practical causes. He is self-employed, so a missed day means lost income, and most primary care offices are open during his working hours. He has a high-deductible plan through the marketplace and worries about cost. These barriers interact with masculine norms: a man who already doubts that a visit is necessary will not give up a day's pay for it.

What Might Help

Several changes could reach men like Mike. Evening and Saturday clinic hours remove the conflict with work. Workplace and community screenings, such as blood pressure checks at auto parts stores or union halls, bring care to where men already are. Framing checkups as maintenance rather than as treatment for weakness fits the norms Addis and Mahalik describe. Partners often prompt men's visits, and encouraging rather than nagging may help. Clinicians can make visits efficient and respectful, explaining findings plainly.

Mike's Next Step

His wife found a walk-in clinic open Saturday mornings near the shop. Mike agreed to go, telling himself it was like a state inspection. His blood pressure was 152/96, and the clinician referred him for testing of his heartburn and breathlessness. He left with a follow-up appointment on a Saturday.

Different Men, Different Barriers

Masculinity is not the same for every man. Black and Hispanic men may carry experiences of discrimination in health care that add to mistrust. Gay and bisexual men may avoid clinicians they expect to judge them. Older men raised in a time when doctors were seen only for emergencies may hold different habits from younger men who track their fitness on a phone. A program that reaches Mike may not reach his younger employee or his Black neighbor, so outreach should be shaped with each group rather than for men in general.

Limits

The UK data come from a system unlike the American one, and men's use of care varies by race, income, sexual orientation and culture. The theories describe patterns, not every man. Mike's story is invented to illustrate the sources.

Conclusion

Mike's eight years without a checkup reflect masculine norms, practical barriers and a health system that rarely meets men on their terms. Courtenay explains how avoiding care can be a way of being a man, Addis and Mahalik show that the setting can change that choice and Wang and colleagues show the gap is large even where care is free. Care that fits men's work and framing that respects their sense of control can close part of the gap.

References

Addis, M. E., & Mahalik, J. R. (2003). Men, masculinity, and the contexts of help seeking. American Psychologist, 58(1), 5-14. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.58.1.5

Courtenay, W. H. (2000). Constructions of masculinity and their influence on men's well-being: A theory of gender and health. Social Science & Medicine, 50(10), 1385-1401. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(99)00390-1

Wang, Y., Hunt, K., Nazareth, I., Freemantle, N., & Petersen, I. (2013). Do men consult less than women? An analysis of routinely collected UK general practice data. BMJ Open, 3(8), Article e003320. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2013-003320