Population Evidence and Technology, University of Warwick Medical School, Coventry, UK.
Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK.
Br J Health Psychol. 2020 Nov;25(4):1102-1117. doi: 10.1111/bjhp.12454. Epub 2020 Jul 13.
Health care utilization rates are lower among men; however, little is known about how men's health care utilization is affected by migration. The aim of this study was to explore health-related help-seeking decisions among older Ghanaian men residing in the United Kingdom and in Ghana.
Twenty-six men aged 50 years or over were recruited from community locations within two large cities in the UK and Ghana. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were undertaken to explore the illness and help-seeking experiences of older men.
Help-seeking experiences differed among the Ghanaian men living in the UK and in Ghana. Three themes were identified that impacted on help-seeking decisions: (1) pluralistic approaches to managing health and illness and (2) perceptions of formal health services in Ghana and UK and (3) financial constraints and masculinity norms as barriers to help-seeking.
This is the first study to look at help-seeking decisions among older men residing in the UK and Ghana. Findings highlight how older migrant men's explanatory models of their health encompass enduring faith-based beliefs around causation of illness and approaches to management, as well as the use of pluralistic approaches to managing health. This study supports the call for culturally sensitive community-based interventions to increase engagement and facilitate improved health outcomes for migrant populations, particularly older men.
男性的医疗保健利用率较低；然而，人们对男性的医疗保健利用如何受到移民的影响知之甚少。本研究旨在探讨居住在英国和加纳的老年加纳男性的与健康相关的寻求帮助的决策。
从英国和加纳两个大城市的社区地点招募了 26 名年龄在 50 岁及以上的男性。通过面对面的半结构化访谈，探讨了老年男性的疾病和寻求帮助的经历。
居住在英国和加纳的加纳男性的寻求帮助的经历有所不同。确定了三个主题，这些主题影响了寻求帮助的决策：（1）管理健康和疾病的多元化方法，（2）对加纳和英国正规医疗服务的看法，（3）经济限制和男性气质规范是寻求帮助的障碍。
这是第一项研究居住在英国和加纳的老年男性寻求帮助的决定。研究结果表明，老年移民男性对健康的解释模型包括对疾病病因和管理方法的持久基于信仰的信念，以及对健康管理的多元化方法的使用。这项研究支持呼吁采取文化上敏感的基于社区的干预措施，以提高移民人口，特别是老年男性的参与度并促进改善健康结果。
