Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Mar-Apr;19(2):15579883241311557.
doi: 10.1177/15579883241311557. Epub 2025 Mar 12.

"Just Treat Me Delicately": A Qualitative Exploration of What Works to Engage Australian Men in Health Care Encounters

Zac E Seidler  1   2   3 , Michelle Sheldrake  1 , Simon Rice  1   2   3   4 , Michael J Wilson  2   3 , Ruben Benakovic  2   3 , Krista Fisher  1   2   3 , Margaret A McGee  1
Affiliations

"Just Treat Me Delicately": A Qualitative Exploration of What Works to Engage Australian Men in Health Care Encounters

Zac E Seidler et al. Am J Mens Health. 2025 Mar-Apr.

Abstract

There is growing consensus for upskilling the health care workforce on gender-responsive strategies to more effectively connect and respond to men during health care encounters. To inform health practitioner education, the primary aim of this study was to gain insights from a diverse sample of men in Australia on their experiences and expectations when engaging with health care practitioners. Thirty-two men (18-70 years, median 33) participated in eight online focus group discussions. A combined deductive and inductive thematic analysis was undertaken to reconcile their expectations with prior published approaches for practitioners to engage men in care and identify new themes. Participants desired a genuine relationship, signaled by upfront and informal communication, active listening, and enquiry. In structuring treatment, participants sought transparency and respect for autonomy. Regarding the therapeutic alliance, avoiding gender stereotyping and empathetic, sensitive, and holistic care were valued by men. These expectations for how practitioners engage with men in care were reflected in their advice for health practitioner student training and aligned with approaches published previously. Participant insights were synthesized into four outcomes, for men, of successful engagement: legitimize the relationship to build trust, create a safe space to facilitate disclosure, empower men, and assess and treat the whole man through a biopsychosocial lens. In conclusion, men seek authentic connection and a caring style that allows them to legitimize and forge an ongoing relationship with their practitioner. These outcomes of successful engagement are key to developing consumer-informed health practitioner education and competencies on gender-responsive health care for men.

Keywords: engagement; gender-responsive health care; masculinities; men’s health; practitioner; primary health care.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Data AvailabilityHuman research ethics approval was not sought to use these data for future research, and therefore, the use of these data is limited to this study. Researchers interesting in accessing the data would need to seek a waiver of consent.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Outcomes, for Men, of Successful Engagement With HCPs Synthesized After Reconciling Published Approaches for HCPs for Engaging Men in Care With Approaches Described by FGD Participants That Work for Them
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ab Aziz M. Z., Tengku Ismail T. A., Ibrahim M. I., Yaacob N. M., Mohd Said Z. (2022). Experiences and expectations of the characteristics of friendly primary health services from the perspective of men: A phenomenological qualitative study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(19), 12428. 10.3390/ijerph191912428 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Australian Bureau of Statistics. (n.d.). National Health Survey: First results methodology. https://www.abs.gov.au/methodologies/national-health-survey-methodology/...
    1. Australian Government, Department of Health. (2019). National men’s health strategy 2020-2030. https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2021/05/national...
    1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2023). Premature mortality data. Custom data request.
    1. Australian Safety and Quality Goals for Health Care. (2017). Partnering with consumers action guide. https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/sites/default/files/migrated/3-Partn...

LinkOut - more resources