Yunus Centre for Social Business and Health, Glasgow Caledonian University, M201 George Moore Building, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow, G4 0BA, UK.
BMC Public Health. 2021 Mar 20;21(1):553. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-10585-3.
Men's health is a globally underrepresented area of research and policy. With men facing numerous healthcare barriers, there are calls for more 'male friendly' approaches to health improvement that take into consideration differing male behaviours and attitudes towards health. Men's Sheds are community-based organisations delivering practical and social activities that encourage positive health behaviours. While Sheds have been recognised for their health and wellbeing benefits to men, research has yet to explore the impacts of Sheds on male health improvement and their potential role as a preventative gendered public health measure.
The study used in-depth interviews with 62 Shed members from five Sheds to investigate the impacts of Shed activity on the health improvement behaviours and attitudes of Shed users. Findings from the qualitative study were used to propose a set of pathways in which Sheds activity led to positive health engagement.
The proposed pathways suggest that there are many different and interlinked ways in which Shed activities can impact on the health behaviours and attitudes of Shed users. Through participation in various practical and social activities in an inclusive environment, Shed users reported increases in their health seeking behaviours, improved perspectives on and management of their personal health, and an increased ability to overcome illness and recover.
Where male friendly health provision has been lacking, this study suggests how Men's Shed activities can provide positive male health outcomes, often in unexpected and non-obvious ways. In particular, the proposed visual pathways are important to inform policymakers and practitioners of the ways in that Sheds may contribute to engaging men in health improvement practices and increase their health knowledge. This study also provides a structure from which further studies can measure and evaluate Shed health impacts.
男性健康是全球研究和政策中代表性不足的领域。由于男性面临众多医疗保健障碍，因此呼吁采取更多“男性友好”的方法来改善健康，同时考虑到男性不同的行为和对健康的态度。男性棚屋是提供实践和社交活动的社区组织，鼓励积极的健康行为。虽然棚屋已经因其对男性健康和福利的益处而得到认可，但研究尚未探讨棚屋对男性健康改善的影响及其作为预防性性别公共卫生措施的潜在作用。
该研究使用对来自五个棚屋的 62 名棚屋成员的深入访谈，调查棚屋活动对棚屋使用者健康改善行为和态度的影响。定性研究的结果用于提出一系列途径，说明棚屋活动如何导致积极的健康参与。
提出的途径表明，棚屋活动可以通过许多不同且相互关联的方式影响棚屋使用者的健康行为和态度。通过在包容的环境中参与各种实践和社交活动，棚屋使用者报告说他们的健康寻求行为增加了，对个人健康的看法和管理得到了改善，并且克服疾病和康复的能力也得到了提高。
在缺乏男性友好型健康服务的情况下，本研究表明男性棚屋活动如何以意想不到和不明显的方式提供积极的男性健康结果。特别是，拟议的视觉途径对于向政策制定者和从业者传达棚屋可以参与男性健康改善实践并提高他们的健康知识的方式非常重要。本研究还为进一步研究衡量和评估棚屋健康影响提供了一个结构。
