Men's health disparities: Causes and interventions

According to the existing, extensive scientific evidence in the literature, men on average are living sicker and dying younger at a higher rate compared to women. The causes of men's infirmities are complex and multifaceted, contributing to increased morbidity and mortality rates and decreased life expectancy. Despite the statistics of the doomed health status among men, interests to eliminate their health disparities remain inconsistent and ill-defined. Therefore, efforts to eradicate men's health disparities should be positioned in interdisciplinary health education, research, and policy using sex and gender-based health frameworks. The purpose of this paper is to explore men's health generally by discussing common health disparities, the causes of the gender gap in men's health outcomes, proposing some strategies for advancing men's health, and finally providing nursing implications for education, practice, research, and health/public policy. Notably, interdisciplinary, gender-based health education potentially has significant impacts on men's health. The promotion of such initiatives can consequently address the intricacies of men's health, which will provide future healthcare professionals with the knowledge, attitude, and skills necessary to improve men's health.

Visible and Invisible Trends in Black Men's Health: Pitfalls and Promises for Addressing Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Inequities in Health

Over the past two decades, there has been growing interest in improving black men's health and the health disparities affecting them. Yet, the health of black men consistently ranks lowest across nearly all groups in the United States. Evidence on the health and social causes of morbidity and mortality among black men has been narrowly concentrated on public health problems (e.g., violence, prostate cancer, and HIV/AIDS) and determinants of health (e.g., education and male gender socialization). This limited focus omits age-specific leading causes of death and other social determinants of health, such as discrimination, segregation, access to health care, employment, and income. This review discusses the leading causes of death for black men and the associated risk factors, as well as identifies gaps in the literature and presents a racialized and gendered framework to guide efforts to address the persistent inequities in health affecting black men.