Perceptions of "Male Sensitive" Health Services Among Men in Trinidad and Tobago

Introduction: While Caribbean researchers have explored masculinity, socialization, and behavior, the literature has been silent on masculinity and "male sensitive" health services. This study explored masculinity and perceptions of "male sensitive" health services. Method: An interpretative, phenomenological, qualitative design that used 14 focus groups and 12 semistructured interviews among men between the ages 18 and 65 years. Results: The notion of "male sensitive" services were more of preferences like having more females, timeliness, and privacy of services rather than a specific set of services unique to men. Services were expected to be professional, offered in private spaces, timely, and as an "all in one" service with more male service providers. Discussion: Male utilization of health services may be a problem if they are not considered "sensitive" to their needs. This has implications for the reorientation of services, as well as, personnel, including increased involvement of males as health care providers.

Men's Perspectives on 'Male Sensitive' Health Services

Men, in general, are more likely to hold negative views and be unwilling to access health services (Hawkes and Buse, 2013) except in circumstances when they view their lives qas being imperilled (Novak, et al., 2019). However, this is associated with the social constructionof masculinity an the expectations of how masculinity should be performed (Novak, et al 2019.) Being concerned about one's health is perceived as a female concern and creates cognitive dissonance for men in deciding whether they should behave as though they don't care or should care for their health (Robertson and Williams, 2010, Elliott. 2015, Bonhomme, Brott and Fadich, 2017, Novak, et al., 2019). In spite of the growing body of literature on masculinity and health; addressing issues of men's health is challening since there is an absence of agreement on what constitutes 'men's health', in spite of attempts to do so (Bardehle, Dinges and Whitw, 2016). Although a number of studies have been conducted on men in the Caribbean, there is a dearth of literature on men and their perceptions of 'male sensitive' health services among men between the ages of 18 yeas to 65 years in Trinidad and Tobago. The research questions was: What are men's perceptions about masculinity and its implications for 'male sensitive' health services?

African Caribbean men remanded to Brixton prison: psychiatric and forensic characteristics and outcome of final court appearance

AIMS: This study aims to examine the influence of ethnic origin on the range of diagnoses, past psychiatric and forensic contacts, and outcome of final court appearance in a random sample of men remanded in Brixton prison health care centre for a psychiatric assessment. METHOD: 277 men were randomly sampled from all men to HMP Brixton and referred to prison health care centres for a psychiatric assessment over a one year period. Men were interviewed immediately after remand to establish their socio-demographic profiles, their psychiatric diagnoses, alcohol and substance misuse histories, criminality, seriousness of index offence and violence involved in their index offence, past psychiatric and forensic contacts and outcome after court appearance. CONCLUSIONS: In this sample, a greater percentage of black men who were remanded in custody had a diagnoses of schizophrenia. They were remanded despite more stable housing and fewer criminal convictions than the white group. Custodial remands could be avoided if community services (psychiatric diversion) were especially sensitive to the needs of black men with severe mental illness.(AU)

Healthy male workers? a look at male workers in two occupational settings in Barbados - abstract

Company-sponsored annual examination of 150 workers, from two separate industries, revealed that unhealthy life-styles, in terms of drinking and smoking behaviours, were fairly common. Sixty percent drank alcohol at least every weekend, and 19 smoked at least ten cigarettes daily. Ten percent were obese. Previously undiagnosed diabetes and hypertension were present in 10 and 12 percent of subjects respectively. The workers had very limited contact with health care physicians, for reasons believed in part to be financial. In the circumstances, the physicians had to modify textbook approaches and utilize new approaches to 'opportunistic screening' for chronic disease. None of the problems encountered could be adequately managed on a single annual visit. Family physicians, employers and employees are encouraged to negotiate additional strategies for monitoring and maintaining the health of male workers. (AU)

Nuturing by male kin among female university students in Jamaica: some preliminary findings

Looks at the behaviours of males who were psychologically present in the life of their family. Looks at the relationship between women and the males in both the nuclear and extended family systems in Jamaica, examining in particular, the ways in which females experience nurturing behaviour shown to them by their male kin(AU)

Some socio-economic and medical problems related to family planning in Jamaica, West Indies

As a medical officer, the author came to appreciate the impact of poverty on the health and well-being of some rural Jamaican people. He offered contraceptive services as one means of alleviating the situation, but the response was poor. This was not as he had expected, or had been led to believe from earlier studies in Jamaica, so he determined to do further research on the problem, hoping that what would be learnt might be useful in the impending national programme. A KAP survey was first done in study and control populations; then a longitudinal study was set up in the study area, having several components. It aimed to test the stated intention of people against their action in making use of a contraceptive service; and to compare the acceptability and use-effectiveness of three methods of contraception; the oral contraceptive, the I.U.D. and a vaginal foam preparation. An educational experiment was also done in the study area, using community leaders of various sorts, designated by the people themselves; they were to operate as agents of change, inducing people in their communities to adopt contraceptive practices. Finally, there was a comparison of changes in knowledge, attitudes and practice in the study and control populations, the latter of which had no special birth control activities in the interim. Several things were found: The action of people in adopting contraception did not match their stated intentions; very few of the people promising to make use of the services did in fact do so. There were no differences in immediate acceptability of the contraceptive agents offered, but after three months of use the I.U.D. and the oral contraceptives were more acceptable than the foam preparation. The I.U.D. was found to have the greatest use-effectiveness, with the oral contraceptive next, and the foam the least. Due to small numbers, the condom was not compared. The educational experiment did not bring about any differences in the rate of recruitment of new clients from "treated" sections of the study area. After some three years of clinical and educational activities in the study area, there was increased knowledge of contraception and more favourable attitudes towards its use than there was previously; but there was only a very slight increase in its actual practice. These findings were true for both study and control areas. An examination of trends in indices of fertility did not demonstrate lower rates in the study as compared with the control area. In fact the trend seemed to be for lower rates in the control area! Most women who attended the clinic had some pelvic pathology, usually minor. This sort of situation could have a grave negative effect on the use of the I.U.D. in particular; as stated above, this method has the greatest use-effectiveness. There were also several complaints judged to be unreasonably adduced to the use of the contraceptive agents. Very few men made use of the services; most of those who came used the condom irregularly. There are speculations about the reasons for non-adoption of contraceptive practices. These include the rural-agricultural and traditional way of life; and other social and cultural factors, including sexual and reproductive behaviour patterns, some of which have at least partly historical bases. The generally low level of education, which is shown to be a characteristic of these people, must have great influence on their adoption of contraception. Recommendations are made for more education-general and specific for contraception; and for greater economic opportunities for these people, which may potentiate their adoption of contraception. There is also a call for greater social support for the aged, which may replace the dependence on large families for old age support. (AU)

Contraceptive use and desire for further children among working class Jamaican men in 1969

The research goal was to explore the conditions under which contraception is used in working class unions of different types, namely unions in which partners (a) lived together (b) lived apart. A number of variables which plausibly might directly or indirectly influence contraceptive use were identified, and an effort was made to test the influence exerted upon contraceptive use by these variables, through measuring the variables over a sample of 118 working class men and subsequently conducting a statistical analysis. In the statistical analysis reported here, the influence of the following variables was considered: (1) Number of children of 8 different types. (2) Union type - a special 7 category typology was used. (3) Male partner's desire for a further child. Three separate measures were used. (4) Male partner's affection for his sexual partner. (5) Sex of living children. (6) Number of current sexual partners. (7) Selected socioeconomic variables: specifically, occupation, income, residence