Men Accessing and Learning to Engage in Health-Enhancing and Learning Programs (M.A.L.E. H.E.L.P.): Using modeling to inform public health and healthcare programming and policy

Increasing empirical evidence suggests males die sooner, experience lower health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and are at risk for most, if not all of, the top causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States as well as other countries of the world. Supporting the empirical evidence are simple anecdotal “data” that surrounds us every day. Fifty percent of the U.S. (and world for that matter) population live at higher risk, in poorer health, and experience less in terms of quality of life indicators? When gaps occur between and among various groups, a disparity is said to exist. One of the continuing overarching goals of Healthy People 2010 and 2020 is to decrease health disparities. Health disparities in males are quite apparent. It is a public health imperative to understand not why males die sooner and live sicker, but also what precludes them from seeking access to health care in the first place. We must carefully dissect the confluence of social, cultural, and psychological determinants of what does and does not work to motivate males to access health care, particularly from a primary prevention perspective. This study will present novel data demonstrating the strongest path as to what precludes men from accessing both preventative and palliative healthcare. Regression analyses identified significant predictive models as to why men choose to access healthcare: preventative reasons [F (43, 207) = 3.46 , p < .05,  R² =.42] and when sick or injured [F (42, 208) = 5.18, p < .05, R² = .51). Other factors were identified as significant predictors of how recently men accessed health care [F (13, 234) = 3.73, p < .05,  R² = .17). Perceive threats and barriers to care using a mixed methods approach is discussed. Last, considerations for health programming and policy will be discussed.