Medibank Health Solutions NZ Ltd., Wellington, New Zealand.
Telemed J E Health. 2013 Jan;19(1):42-7. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2012.0028. Epub 2012 Dec 7.
To compare data for men who call Healthline for themselves with data from women callers and to use those pilot data to inform strategies to encourage men to use Healthline.
This was a study examining retrospective data for people calling Healthline in a week in October 2010. Calls from 487 men were compared with those from 487 women. Geocoded data provided deprivation levels.
There were fewer men calling than women in all age groups, although younger men were overrepresented. Young men were more acutely unwell than young women or older men. Men called at all times of the day, and call duration was similar to that of women callers. Most men callers were European; men of other ethnic groups were underrepresented compared with women and compared with their representation in the New Zealand population. Men from higher deprivation areas were more likely to call than those from lower deprivation areas.
Compared with women, men underuse Healthline as they do other primary care services. Overall, men are more symptomatic than women; of interest is our observation that among men, the users are likely to be younger, of lower socioeconomic status, and European. Healthline may be an acceptable source of health advice for these men, and it should be considered central in any future initiative addressing men's health.
比较男性拨打 Healthline 热线电话的数据与女性来电者的数据，并利用这些试点数据为鼓励男性使用 Healthline 热线电话的策略提供信息。
这是一项研究，对 2010 年 10 月一周内拨打 Healthline 热线电话的人群进行回顾性数据分析。将 487 名男性来电者的数据与 487 名女性来电者的数据进行比较。地理位置编码数据提供了贫困水平信息。
在所有年龄段，男性拨打热线电话的人数都少于女性，但年轻男性的比例更高。年轻男性的病情比年轻女性或老年男性更严重。男性在一天中的任何时间都拨打热线电话，通话时间与女性来电者相似。大多数男性来电者为欧洲人；与女性来电者相比，以及与新西兰人口中的比例相比，其他族裔的男性来电者代表性不足。来自贫困程度较高地区的男性比来自贫困程度较低地区的男性更有可能拨打热线电话。
与女性相比，男性对 Healthline 热线电话的使用率低于对其他初级保健服务的使用率。总体而言，男性的症状比女性更明显；有趣的是，我们观察到，在男性中，使用者可能更年轻、社会经济地位更低、且为欧洲人。Healthline 可能是这些男性接受健康建议的可接受来源，应将其视为未来任何解决男性健康问题的举措的核心。
