Men’s Health Policy Information Paper Executive Summary
Background
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Men and women play diverse roles in the Australian community and economy. They have distinctive life experiences and health experiences due to biological,
psychological, economic and social factors, including the roles they play in social and economic life. These differences may be, but are not always, important to health status. Some conditions such as pregnancy or prostate disease affect only women or only men for obvious reasons; while other conditions are more prevalent among one sex or the other (e.g., major depression is more prevalent among women where as deaths from suicide are more common among men). Some conditions may occur equally frequently but are managed or experienced differently by men and women.
Men are significant contributors to Australia’s economy, community and family wellbeing. The fact that men are contributing in ever greater numbers to all forms of caring, including fathering and volunteering is often overlooked. Of all those caring for the aged or people with disabilities, 46% are men, and 29% of primary carers are men.1 It is important to develop a coherent approach to improving men’s health in order to maintain and enhance men’s contributions to the economy, family and community life.
The Men’s Health Information Paper has been developed to raise awareness and promote focused discussion about men’s health.
1 FaHCSIA, 2007, Volunteering in Australia - changing patterns in voluntary work-1995 – 2006,