specialty focus
What men want
One explained: “You get in when you can and
not at the right time of the day [that suits work
commitments]. You wait too long to get what you
need [prescription or medical certificate]. It costs too
much and it kind of works like a drive-through.”
Some of the barriers to healthcare access both
participant groups identified were the culture and
environment in general practice and the funding
limitations of the Medicare Benefits Schedule.
In an interview with Nursing Review, Lovett
discussed some of the other factors at play and how
the relationship between PHCNs and men can be
strengthened.
NR: Why did you decide to look into this area?
Australian
researchers have
examined the
perception of
nurses in primary
healthcare and
the expectations
of male patients.
Del Lovett interviewed
by Dallas Bastian
C
ost, waiting time, lack of confidence – these
are some of the healthcare barriers men
and primary healthcare nurses identified in
a new study published in the Australian Journal of
Primary Health.
Led by Del Lovett, a PhD candidate at Charles
Darwin University, the research explored the
perception of primary healthcare nurses (PHCNs)
in men’s health services and men’s expectations of
the nurse.
The study authors said both PHCNs and men
were unclear about the role of the nurse in men’s
healthcare services.
“PHCNs reported their lack of clarity was due
partly to poor knowledge of the concept and
definition of men’s health, which affected their
confidence to deliver healthcare and health
promotion for men,” the paper said.
One nurse participant argued that to better
engage men and provide quality healthcare services,
she would need to attend relevant training. “I haven’t
had any formal training in men’s health or health
promotion, and if the right type of education was
provided, I would do it,” she said.
The men in the study said they became annoyed
by the cost, waiting time and lack of extended hours,
and also identified being seen as a whinger as a
barrier to accessing primary healthcare.
16 | nursingreview.com.au
DL: I’ve had a 16-year involvement in general
practice as a nurse and a nurse educator, and
over time this created a special interest in
men’s healthcare. I realised that during my own
progression of providing specific men’s healthcare
I’d had a change in my own mindset of how best
to approach and engage men to improve their
healthcare outcomes. So when I started to read
Australian studies, reports and policies, particularly
from the last 10 years, I realised that although a lot
of men’s health in Australia has improved, there’s still
a large proportion of the male population whose
health needs are not being effectively met.
In Australia, we know that the average life
expectancy of men is shorter. They have higher
levels of preventable earlier death from heart
disease, cancer, cancerous lung disease and suicide.
And in fact, there’s not one country in the world
where men overall aren’t dying earlier than women.
PHCNs are the largest number and most widely
distributed health professionals working in general
practice in community areas, in rural and remote
areas, in schools and jails, and they’re in an ideal
position to support and care for men. There is little in
the literature globally or in Australia that has studied
this relationship, and this presented a serious gap in
what PHCNs needed to know to provide equitable
health services for men.
One of the key findings of the research was that
both groups deemed confidence as being very
important for effective communication and in
establishing rapport. How is this confidence
communicated by the nurse, and what do you
think men are noticing or looking out for?
Most men in this study felt effective communication
could help break down barriers in receiving
healthcare. Some felt they could sometimes tell
or ask the nurse something they couldn’t discuss
with the doctor. The first couple of minutes were
identified as being very important, particularly if men
hadn’t seen a nurse or doctor in the last few years.
And men didn’t like the use of medical jargon or
terminology, they didn’t necessarily understand it,
and they wanted things explained simply.
Most nurses felt they did communicate with men