Men’s health: present practice and future hope

There is an increasing interest in matters relating to masculinity and men’s health. This paper discusses a role theory approach to masculinity (as this underpins much present preventative health work with men) and why this fails to fully address their health needs. Thus, a fuller theory of masculinity is provided, that recognises the present power relationships in society and how these effect both men’s relationships and organisational structure. This theory of masculinity is then applied to present health services in order to explain how the NHS itself creates a barrier for men wishing to access preventative services and stifles health professionals opportunities for innovative work with men. Finally an outline of how this analysis provides hope for future work with men is discussed.