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Book Review
Men's Health: An Introduction for Nurses and Health Professionals
Tony Harrison and Karen Dignan (eds)
ISBN: 978-0-443059-19-3 1999 222 pages Churchill Livingstone
Tom A Laws
Lecturer, Division of Health Science, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of South Australia, SA
This book is a compilation of edited chapters authored by academics at the university of Manchester where a men's health course has been developed. As such, the content offers an excellent introduction for nurses and health professionals to men's health issues. As an edited text this book deserves a chapter by chapter review.
The chapter 'Men and heart disease' identifies the key risk factors and the success of mainstream medical interventions. The material is presented as a critical analysis of current health promotional approaches and medical knowledge drawing on research data predominantly gathered in Western Europe and North America. Points on policy and government initiatives for managing Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) relate mostly to UK. Importantly, the majority of the research reviewed is specific to male populations with some longitudinal studies and meta-analysis. Students will appreciate that gaps in the research are also clearly identified.
The chapter 'Men and counselling' clearly identifies a role for counselling and outlines prominent theories vis a vis masculine behaviour and emotion. The inclusion of eight scenarios orientated around issues men hold links well with the theoretical content. The effectiveness of same gender versus opposite gender counselling is included in the form of a well balanced debated. The 'promoting health to men' chapter covers elementary points related to what health promotion should be and is. There is a well-rounded approach to exploring concepts such as the effectiveness and applicability of screening. However, screening for prostate cancer, where there are issues arising from the high level of false positive results from the PSA test, is not discussed. There is good amount of detail on young men, a group that has traditionally been difficult to reach, in terms of the health promotion message. Brief overviews are provided in relation to Occupational Health and Safety, initiatives within schools, drop in centres and the impact of the media on health promotion.
The chapter titled 'Genetic man' (34 pages), seems incongruent with the rest of the book in that it takes a purely biological approach to understanding the genetics of mankind rather than applying the knowledge of genetics to men and their health. For example, actual and potential fathers do benefit from genetic counselling across a range of circumstances.
Harrison (editor) in his chapter 'the sexual male' takes a first principled approach to exploring men's sexuality, highlighting the intensely social and political nature of this normally very private aspect of men's lives. What might be considered normal sexuality is carefully played out against research evidence identifying a wide range of types of sexual activity and non-heterosexual sex. Organic disorders and psycho - sexual problems are also touched on. The biblical introduction to the chapter on 'men and fertility' progresses through a series of well-staged sections that assists the reader in understanding male reproductive anatomy and the physiology. Factors affecting the formation of sperm and ability to fertilise are well outlined. Methods of assisted fertilisations (cryo-preservation of sperm, IVF and sperm donors) are valuable inclusions. 'Men and work' is a chapter initially underpinned by theoretical works on masculinity. The changing structure of work, the stress of work and the stress of loosing paid employment are overviewed by the author. The chapter 'Men's health and culture' provides theoretical approaches to understanding culture with some examples. Examples of cultural differences in relation to men's health practices or perceptions of health would have been a valuable addition. The chapter 'men and parenting' presents snap shots of changes in men's lives and how changes are likely to impact on relationships with their children and spouse / partner. Although it is universally recognised that men are not homogenous there is little exploration of cultural and class differences between fathers. The relatively large section on the transition to parenthood requires the support of references.
There are few substantial books on men's health aimed at meeting the needs of the health professional. This book provides good breadth in terms of rasing awareness to issues in the current state of play and sufficient depth to propel the reader in the right direction should greater knowledge be required.
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