Department of Public Health and General Practice, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Health (London). 2012 May;16(3):235-49. doi: 10.1177/1363459311403948. Epub 2011 May 20.
It is anticipated that a colorectal cancer (CRC) screening programme will be introduced in New Zealand making it the first screening programme in this country to include both males and females. In-depth interviews were carried out with 80 participants (53 females and 27 males) about their knowledge and attitudes to screening programmes in general, as well as their understanding and perceptions of CRC screening in particular. The study highlighted the perceived marginalization of men's health with a sense that women had advocated for, and therefore monopolized, screening while men's health had been left unattended. There were also perceptions of women's responsibility for ensuring men's access to health services. There are arguments that such perceptions disempower or 'infantalize' men which have no long term benefits. While health is perceived as being a feminine matter, it may be difficult to encourage men to engage in preventative behaviours, such as taking up the offer of screening. This article also highlights the heterogeneity of men, where different performances of masculinities were presented. A stereotypical 'staunch' or 'macho image' discourse was evident in some of the interviews where much emphasis was on maintaining and controlling bodily boundaries. Letting the barrier of embodied 'staunchness' down to access health services is a threat to identity. What is required for successful implementation of the CRC screening programme is a normalization of men's health help-seeking, taking into account the fact that men are not homogenous. Studies in relation to men's health need to attend to cultural diversity which is likely to present a challenge to individualism. Critical studies of men would be enhanced by more engagement with the work of black male scholars.
预计新西兰将推出结直肠癌（CRC）筛查计划，使其成为该国首个纳入男性和女性的筛查计划。研究人员对 80 名参与者（53 名女性和 27 名男性）进行了深入访谈，了解他们对一般筛查计划的知识和态度，以及他们对 CRC 筛查的理解和看法。研究突出了男性健康的边缘化问题，人们认为女性倡导并因此垄断了筛查，而男性健康则无人关注。人们还认为女性有责任确保男性获得医疗服务。有人认为，这种看法剥夺了男性的权力或使他们“幼稚化”，对男性没有长期好处。尽管健康被视为女性的问题，但可能难以鼓励男性采取预防行为，例如接受筛查。本文还强调了男性的异质性，其中呈现了不同的男性气质表现。在一些访谈中，明显存在一种刻板的“坚定”或“男子气概”的话语，其中强调了保持和控制身体界限的重要性。为了获得健康服务而放下身体上的“坚定”障碍对男性来说是一种身份威胁。要成功实施 CRC 筛查计划，需要将男性健康求助正常化，同时考虑到男性并非同质的事实。与男性健康相关的研究需要关注文化多样性，这可能对个人主义构成挑战。对男性进行批判性研究需要更多地参与黑人男性学者的工作。
