Associations Between Masculine Norms and Health-Care Utilization in Highly Religious, Heterosexual Men

Authors

Josh R. Novak, Auburn University
Terry Peak, Utah State UniversityFollow
Julie A. Gast, Utah State UniversityFollow
Melinda Arnell, Utah State University

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title

American Journal of Men's Health

Publication Date

5-22-2019

Publisher

Sage Publications, Inc.

First Page

1

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

Last Page

11

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to use focus groups to explore married men’s avoidance of health-care utilization. Five focus groups of 8 to 10 married, heterosexual, male participants (N = 44) were conducted and analyzed using grounded theory methods. Several important themes emerged connected to how masculine norms were associated with health-care utilization at several domains including at the organizational level (perceptions of doctors), interpersonal level (past family context and current family context), and individual level (illness severity, money concerns). These themes were all connected with the societal theme of masculine norms, where men’s reasons for health-care utilization (or underutilization) seemed in large part to emerge because of their perceptions of male gender roles. Implications for married men’s health-care utilization and health prevention education will be discussed.

Recommended Citation

Novak, J. R., Peak, T., Gast, J., & Arnell, M. (2019). Associations Between Masculine Norms and Health-Care Utilization in Highly Religious, Heterosexual Men. American Journal of Men’s Health. https://doi.org/10.1177/1557988319856739