Understanding the preferences of Australian men for accessing health information.

With men currently reporting an increased desire to manage their own health, this mixed-methods study aimed to identify the preferred communication channels to support their access to information. Adult cisgender men (n=410) completed an anonymous survey that assessed current methods, preferences and barriers to accessing health information for general, minor, serious and private health concerns. Seven focus groups, attended by 69 men, further explored health-seeking behaviour. Survey results demonstrated the top methods to access information were through the GP or specialist and online searches, with rates differing by age and the type of health concern. Most men (>85%) reported information-seeking for serious concerns, while ~30% did not seek information for minor or private issues. For all ages, the top preferred methods for accessing information included GP or specialists, online searches and pharmacists, with other preferences varying by age, severity and sensitivity. Analysis of the focus group discussions revealed five key themes that help explain men's decisions and actions about seeking health-information: (i) denial; (ii) delayed information seeking; (iii) social constructs of masculinity; (iv) difficulty initiating discussions about health; and (v) perceived trust and validity of information. This study has provided insight into how information can be tailored to communicate effectively with men of different ages. This will support appropriate health-seeking behaviours in response to minor, serious and private health concerns.

Creating a Global Community of Practice for Oncofertility.

Fertility preservation in the cancer setting, known as oncofertility, is a field that requires cross-disciplinary interaction between physicians, basic scientists, clinical researchers, ethicists, lawyers, educators, and religious leaders. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Oncofertility Consortium (OC) was formed to be a scientifically grounded, transparent, and altruistic resource, both intellectual and monetary, for building this new field of practice capable of addressing the unique needs of young patients with cancer. The OC has expanded its attention to include other nonmalignant conditions that can threaten fertility, and the work of the OC now extends around the globe, involving partners who together have created a community of shared effort, resources, and practices. The OC creates materials that are translated, disseminated, and amended by all participants in the field, and local programs of excellence have developed worldwide to accelerate the pace and improve the quality of oncofertility research and practice. Here we review the global oncofertility programs and the capacity building activities that strengthen these research and clinical programs, ultimately improving patient care.

Early Life Events Predict Adult Testicular Function; Data Derived From the Western Australian (Raine) Birth Cohort.

CONTEXT: The impact of early life events on testicular function in adulthood is not well understood. OBJECTIVE: To study the early influences of fetal growth, exposures to cigarette smoke in utero and cord blood estrogens, and the influences of growth and adiposity in childhood through adolescence; on testicular function in adulthood. DESIGN: Male members of the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) were contacted at 20-22 years of age. Of 913 contacted, 423 (56%) agreed to participate; 404 underwent a testicular ultrasound, 365 provided a semen sample, and reproductive hormones were measured (384). Fetal growth measurements (n = 137), umbilical cord estrogen concentrations (n = 128), cord testosterone (T) (n = 125), and child-adulthood growth charts (n = 395) were available. RESULTS: Median sperm output for the 18.6% of men exposed in utero to smoking was lower than nonexposed (82.4 × 10(6) vs 123.1 × 10(6); P = .029). Sperm output in adulthood was inversely correlated with cord serum estradiol (P = .019) and estrone (P = .018). The sperm output of men whose cord blood estradiol and estrone were less than 50th percentile vs more than 50th percentile was 191.1 × 10(6) vs 100.5 × 10(6) (P = .002) and 190.0 × 10(6) vs 106.0 × 10(6) (P = .012), respectively. Men with favorable fetal growth patterns in utero were less likely to have total motile sperm counts within the lowest quartile (P = .011), and men born prematurely had reduced serum T levels in adulthood (13.4 vs 16.6nmol/L, P = .024). Consistent height above the 50th percentile for age through childhood was associated with larger adult mean testicular volume (P < .001). Optimal body mass index trajectory through childhood and adolescence was associated with larger testicular volume (P = .009) and higher serum inhibin B (P = .010) and T (P = .003) in adulthood. CONCLUSIONS: Exposures to maternal smoking and higher cord blood estrogens at delivery were associated with a reduced sperm output in adulthood. Optimal adult testicular function depends on being born at or above average weight, and maintaining optimal growth and adiposity into adulthood.

Creating a Global Community of Practice for Oncofertility.

Fertility preservation in the cancer setting, known as oncofertility, is a field that requires cross-disciplinary interaction between physicians, basic scientists, clinical researchers, ethicists, lawyers, educators, and religious leaders. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Oncofertility Consortium (OC) was formed to be a scientifically grounded, transparent, and altruistic resource, both intellectual and monetary, for building this new field of practice capable of addressing the unique needs of young patients with cancer. The OC has expanded its attention to include other nonmalignant conditions that can threaten fertility, and the work of the OC now extends around the globe, involving partners who together have created a community of shared effort, resources, and practices. The OC creates materials that are translated, disseminated, and amended by all participants in the field, and local programs of excellence have developed worldwide to accelerate the pace and improve the quality of oncofertility research and practice. Here we review the global oncofertility programs and the capacity building activities that strengthen these research and clinical programs, ultimately improving patient care.

"Men's health--a little in the shadow": a formative evaluation of medical curriculum enhancement with men's health teaching and learning.

BACKGROUND: Enhancing a medical school curriculum with new men's health teaching and learning requires an understanding of the local capacity and the facilitators and barriers to implementing new content, and an approach that accommodates the systemic and cultural differences between medical schools. METHODS: A formative evaluation was undertaken to determine the perspectives of key informants (academics, curriculum developers) from four Australian medical schools about the strategies needed to enhance their curriculum with men's health teaching and learning. Through semi-structured questioning with 17 key informants, interviewees also described the contextual barriers and facilitators to incorporating new topic areas into existing curriculum. Interviews were recorded with consent, transcribed verbatim, and analysed by two researchers to identify key themes. RESULTS: Interviewees were enthusiastic about incorporating men's health content through a men's health curriculum framework but highlighted the need for systems to assist in identifying gaps in their current curriculum where the men's health topics could be integrated. The student experience was identified as a key driver for men's health teaching and learning. Furthermore, core men's health clinical outcomes needed to be defined and topic areas vertically integrated across the curricula. This would ensure that students were appropriately equipped with the skills and knowledge for subsequent clinical practice in a range of geographical settings. Interviewees consistently suggested that the best implementation strategy is to have someone 'on the ground' to work directly with medical school staff and champion the men's health discipline. Providing mechanisms for sharing knowledge and resources across medical schools was highlighted to facilitate implementation, particularly for those medical schools with limited men's health teaching resources. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the unanimous support for men's health teaching and learning, the evaluation highlighted that the student experience must be recognised as paramount when integrating new topic areas into an already packed curriculum. A community of practice, where medical schools share relevant resources and knowledge, could help to ensure a commonality of student experience with respect to men's health learning in medical schools across different geographical settings and with different levels of resourcing. Such an approach could also be adapted to other areas of curriculum enhancement.

Assessing the risks and benefits of diagnosing genetic conditions with variable phenotypes through population screening: Klinefelter syndrome as an example.

Consideration of postnatal population-based genetic screening programs is becoming increasingly common. Assessing the medical and psychosocial impacts of this can be particularly complex for genetic conditions with variable phenotypes, especially when outcomes may be more related to quality of life rather than reducing physical morbidity and mortality. In this article, we present a framework for assessing these impacts, by comparing diagnosis and non-diagnosis at different age points. We use the example of Klinefelter syndrome, a common yet frequently under-diagnosed genetic condition for which interventions are available. This framework can be used to supplement established screening guidelines and inform decision-making.

A retrospective case-control study of developmental and other outcomes in a cohort of Australian children conceived by intracytoplasmic sperm injection compared with a similar group in the United Kingdom.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the possibility that children born after ICSI were at increased risk for neurodevelopmental delay. DESIGN: Retrospective case-control study. SETTING: IVF clinic. PATIENT(S): Fifty-eight singleton children born after ICSI and 38 normally conceived singleton children (controls), matched for relevant sociodemographic characteristics, from Australia and 208 case-patients and 221 controls from the United Kingdom. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Antenatal and perinatal, and sociodemographic characteristics; physical health, including congenital abnormalities; and neurodevelopment by using the Griffiths scales of mental development. RESULT(S): Eighty-five percent of case-patients and 96% controls were assessed at a mean age of 13 months. Neurodevelopmental scores were similar in all children. Perinatal outcome was similar, apart from more caesarean sections in the case-patients. Rates of congenital anomalies were similar (5.6% among case-patients vs. 5.7% among controls). Children from fathers with oligozoospermia showed no extra problems. Children born after ICSI in the United Kingdom and Australia were similar. CONCLUSION(S): Children conceived after ICSI did not differ from their naturally conceived peers in physical health or development at ages up to 15 months.