The study of health in men from a gender perspective: where we come from, where are we going

https://doi.org/10.18294/sc.2020.2246

Published 24 April 2020 Open Access


Jorge Marcos-Marcos PhD in Gender Studies. Professor-Researcher, Research Team on Public Health, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, Spain. image/svg+xml , José Tomás Mateos PhD in Health Sciences. Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Nursing and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Nursing and Physiotherapy, Universidad de Lleida, Lleida, Spain. image/svg+xml , Àngel Gasch-Gallén PhD in Health Sciences. Department of Nursing and Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain. image/svg+xml , Carlos Álvarez-Dardet Professor of Public Health. Professor-researcher, Research Team on Public Health, University Institute for Gender Studies Research, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, Spain. Researcher, CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain. image/svg+xml



Abstract views
3073
Metrics Loading ...

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

Keywords:

Gender and Health, Men’s Health, Masculinities, Public Health

Abstract


Comprehensive and in-depth analyses of differences and inequalities in health require a broad-based approach to the study of masculinities and men’s health. Interest in this issue has grown in parallel to increased concern over specific risks and vulnerabilities faced by men, but also due to the need to involve them in programs capable of promoting progress towards gender-based health equity. This article attempts to reframe these issues from the perspective of public health, providing a wider viewpoint on men’s health situated within debates on the social determinants of health and the analysis of health inequalities. Based on a relational gender approach, we formulate some recommendations regarding policy and research agendas, which we argue can contribute to advancing the study and development of programs from a gender-based perspective in health.


References


1. Risman RJ, Davis G. From sex roles to gender structure. Current Sociology Review. 2013;61(5-6):733-755.

2. Connell RW. Gender and Power: Society, the Person and Sexual Politics. Standford CA: Standford University Press; 1987.

3. Carabí A. Construyendo nuevas masculinidades: una introducción. En: Segarra M, Carabí A. Nuevas masculinidades. Barcelona: Icaria Editorial; 2000. p. 15-27.

4. Rubin G. El tráfico de mujeres: notas sobre la “economía política” del sexo. Nueva Antropología. 1986;8(30):95-145.

5. Butler J. El género en disputa: el feminismo y la subversión de la identidad. Barcelona: Paidós; 2007.

6. Del Valle T. Perspectivas feministas desde la antropología social. Barcelona: Editorial Ariel; 2000.

7. World Health Organization. The health and well-being of men in the WHO European Region: better health through a gender approach [Internet]. 2018 [citado 28 mar 2019]. Disponible en: https://tinyurl.com/wvowupg

8. Esteban ML. El estudio de la salud y el género: las ventajas de un enfoque antropológico y feminista. Salud Colectiva. 2006;2(1):9-20.

9. Sabo D. The study of masculinities and men’s health: An overview. En: Kimmel EM, Hearn J, Connell RW, (ed.). Handbook of studies on men and masculinities. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; 2005. p. 326-353.

10. Emslie C, Hunt K. Live to work or work to live? A qualitative study of gender and work-life balance among men and women in mid-life. Gender, Work and Organization. 2009;16(1):151-72.

11. Annandale E, Hunt K. Gender inequalities in health. Buckingham, Philadelphia: Open University Press; 2000.

12. Connell RW. Gender: In world perspective. Cambridge: Polity; 2009.

13. Iyer A, Sen G, Östlin P. Inequalities and intersections in health: a review of the evidence. En: Sen EG, Östlin P, (ed.). Gender equity in health: The shifting frontiers of evidence and action. New York: Routledge; 2010.

14. Annandale E, Riska E. New connections: Towards a gender-inclusive approach to women’s and men’s health. Current Sociology. 2009;57(2):123-133.

15. World Health Organization (WHO). What about boys? A literature Review on the Health and Development of Adolescent Boys [Internet]. 2000 [citado 28 mar 2019]. Disponible en: https://tinyurl.com/t42pr7w

16. Meryn S, Jadad AR. The future of men and their health. Are men in danger of extinction?. British Medical Journal. 2001;323(7320):1013-1014.

17. Commission on Social Determinants of Health (CSDH). Achieving Health Equity: from root causes to fair outcomes. [Internet]. 2007 [citado 28 mar 2019]. Disponible en: https://tinyurl.com/v6rkn4f

18. Naciones Unidas. Comisión de la Condición Jurídica y Social de la Mujer Informe sobre el 54o período de sesiones [Internet]. 2010 [citado 28 mar 2019]. Disponible en: https://tinyurl.com/ugulbwz

19. Kleinman A. Four social theories for global health. The Lancet. 2010;375(9725):1518-1519.

20. Blaxter M. Who fault is it? People’s own conceptions of the reason for health inequalities. Social Science & Medicine. 1997;44(6):747-756.

21. Krieger N. Genders, sexes, and health: What are the connections-and why does it matter? International Journal of Epidemiology. 2003;32(4):652-657.

22. Popay J, Williams G. Equalizing the people’s health: a sociological perspective. En: Gabe EJ, Calnan M, (ed.). The new sociology of the health service. London: Routledge; 2009. p. 222-244.

23. Lock M, Freeman J, Chilibeck G, Beveridge B, Padolsky M. Susceptibility genes and the question of embodied identity. Medical Anthropology Quarterly. 2007;21(3):256-276.

24. Backhans M, Burström B (dir). Gender policy and gender equality in a public health perspective: Investigating morbidity and mortality in Sweden and 22 OECD countries [Tesis de Doctorado]. Estocolmo: Karolinska Institute; 2011[citado 28 mar 2019]. Disponible en: http://hdl.handle.net/10616/40644

25. Riska E. Women’s health: issues and prospects. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. 2000;28:84-87.

26. Farrell W. The liberated man: Beyond masculinity. New York: Random House; 1975.

27. Feigen Fasteau M. The male machine. New York: McGraw-Hill; 1974.

28. Ruiz-Cantero MT, Vives-Cases C, Artazcoz L, Delgado A, García-Calvete MM, Miqueo C, et al. A framework to analyse gender bias in epidemiological research. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. 2007;61(2):46-53.

29. Read JG, Gorman BK. Gender and health inequality. Annual Review of Sociology. 2010;36:371-386.

30. Verbrugge LM. Gender and health: an update on hypotheses and evidence. Journal of Health & Social Behavior. 1985;26(3):156-182.

31. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports from 1994 [Internet]. 1994 [citado 28 mar 2019]. Disponible en: https://tinyurl.com/uewalg3

32. Connell RW. Gender, health and theory: conceptualizing the issue, in local and world perspective. Social Science & Medicine. 2012;74:1675-1683.

33. Braveman P. Health Disparities and Health Equity: Concepts and Measurement. Annual Review of Public Health. 2006;27:167-194.

34. Hammarström A, Härenstam A, Östlin P. Gender and health: concepts and explanatory models. En: Piroska Ö, Danielson M, Finn D, Härenstem A, Lindberg G, (ed.). Gender inequalities in health: A Swedish perspective. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Centre for Population and Development Studies; 2001.

35. Ruiz-Cantero MT, Verbrugge LM. A two way view of gender bias in medicine. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 1997;51(2):106-9.

36. Owens IPF. Sex differences in mortality rate. Science. 2002;297:2008-09.

37. GBD 2017 Mortality Collaborators. Global, regional, and national age-sex-specific mortality and life expectancy, 1950-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. The Lancet. 2018;392:1684-1735.

38. Bird CE, Rieker PP. Gender and health: The effects of constrained choices and social policies. New York: Cambridge University Press; 2008.

39. Phillips SP. Including gender in public health research. Public Health Reports. 2011;126(3):16-21.

40. European Commission. The State of Men’s Health in Europe [Internet]. 2011 [citado 28 mar 2019]. Disponible en: https://tinyurl.com/qooz5tw

41. World Health Organization. Women’s health and well-being in Europe: beyond the mortality advantage [Internet]. 2016 [citado 28 mar 2019]. Disponible en: https://tinyurl.com/w4meey7

42. Verbrugge LM. The twain meet: Empirical explanations of sex differences in health and mortality. Journal of Health & Social Behavior. 1989;30:282-304.

43. Sen G, Östlin P. Unequal, unfair, ineffective and inefficient. Gender inequity in health: why it exists and how can change it. [Internet]. 2007 [citado 28 mar 2019]. Disponible en: https://tinyurl.com/yx8kzzn2

44. Doyal L. Gender equity in health: debates and dilemmas. Social Science & Medicine. 2000;51:931-939.

45. Lupton D. Risk as moral danger: The social and political functions of risk discourse in public health. International Journal of Health Services. 1993;23(3):425-435.

46. Solar O, Irwin A, Vega J. Determinants of health disease: overview and framework. En: Detels R, Beaglehole R, Lansang MA, Gulliford M, (ed.). Textbook of Public Health. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2009. p. 101-119.

47. Perry DG, Pauletti RE. Gender and Adolescent Development. Journal of Research on Adolescence. 2011;21(1):61-74.

48. Robertson S. Understanding men and health: Masculinities, identity and well-being. London: Open University Press; 2007.

49. de Visser RO. I’m not a very manly man. Qualitative insights into young men’s masculine subjectivity. Men and Masculinities. 2009;11(3):367-371.

50. Measham F. “Doing gender”-“doing drugs”: Conceptualising the gendering of drug cultures. Contemporary Drug Problems. 2002;29(2):335-373.

51. Kimmel MS. Homofobia, temor, vergüenza y silencio en la identidad masculina. En: Valdés ET, Olavarría J, (ed.). Masculinidad/es: poder y crisis. Santiago: ISIS-FLACSO/Ediciones de las Mujeres Nº24; 1997. p. 49-62.

52. Courtenay WH. Constructions of masculinity and their influence on men’s well-being: a theory of gender and health. Social Science & Medicine. 2000;50(10):1385-1401.

53. Evans J, Frank B, Oliffe JL, Gregory D. Health, Illness, Men and Masculinities (HIMM): a theoretical framework for understanding men and their health. Journal of Men’s Health & Gender. 2011;8(1):7-15.

54. Vandello JA, Bosson JK. Hard won and easily lost: a review and synthesis of theory and research on precarious manhood. Psychology of Men & Masculinity. 2013;14(2):101-113.

55. Martín-Criado E. Producir la juventud. Crítica de la sociología de la juventud. Madrid: Istmo; 1998.

56. Lupton D, Tulloch J. “Risk is part of your life”: Risk Epistemologies among a Group of Australians. Sociology. 2002;36(2):317-334.

57. France A. Towards a Sociological Understanding of youth and their risk-taking. Journal of Youth Studies. 2000;3(3):317-331.

58. Holmes D, Gastaldo D, O’Byrne P, Lombardo A. Bareback Sex: A Conflation of Risk and Masculinity. International Journal of Men’s Health. 2008;7(2):171-191.

59. Marston C, King E. Factors that shape young people’s sexual behaviour: a systematic review. The Lancet. 2006;368:1581-1586.

60. Sen A. Inequality reexamined. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; 1992.

61. Kimmel MS, Hearn J, Connell RW. Handbook of studies on men and masculinities. London: Sage; 2005.

62. Kawachi I, Subramanian SV, Filho A, N. A glossary for health inequalities. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. 2002;56(9):647-652.

63. Navarro V. The political and social context of health. New York: Baywood Publishing Company; 2004.

64. Benach J, Muntaner C, Solar O, Santana V, Quinlan M. Empleo, trabajo y desigualdades en salud: una visión global. Barcelona: Icaria Editorial; 2010.

65. Backhans MC, Lundberg M, Mänsdotter A. Does increased gender equality lead to a convergence of health outcomes for men and women?: A study of Swedish municipalities. Social Science & Medicine. 2007;64(9):1892-1903.

66. Artazcoz L, Benach J, Borrell C, Cortés I. Unemployment and mental health: Understanding the interactions among gender, family roles, and Social Class. American Journal of Public Health. 2004;94(1):82-88.

67. Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT). World employment social outlook: trends for women 2018, global snapshot. [Internet]. 2018 [citado 28 mar 2019]. Disponible en: https://tinyurl.com/ycw42qay

68. Craig L, Sawrikar P. Work and family: How does the (gender) balance change as children grow? Gender, Work and Organization. 2009;16(6):684-709.

69. Larrañaga I, Martín U, Bacigalupe A, Begiristáin JM, Valderrama MJ. Impacto del cuidado informal en la salud y la calidad de vida de las personas cuidadoras: análisis de las desigualdades de género. Gaceta Sanitaria. 2008;22(5):443-450.

70. Fuhrer R, Stansfeld SA. How gender affects patterns of social relations and their impact on health: a comparison of one or multiple source of support from. Social Science & Medicine. 2002;54:811-825.

71. Chen YY, Subramanian SV, Acevedo-García D, Kawachi I. Women’s status and depressive symptoms: A multilevel analysis. Social Science & Medicine. 2005;60:49-60.

72. Masanet E, La Parra D. Relación entre el número de horas de cuidado informal y el estado de salud mental de las personas cuidadoras. Revista Española de Salud Pública. 2011;85:257-266.

73. Van de Velde S, Bracke P, Levecque K. Gender differences in depression in 23 European countries: Cross-national variation in the gender gap in depression. Social Science & Medicine. 2010;71(2):305-313.

74. García-Calvente MM, del Rio-Lozano M, Marcos-Marcos J. Desigualdades de género en el deterioro de la salud como consecuencia del cuidado informal en España. Gaceta Sanitaria. 2011;25(S2):100-107.

75. Neff LA, Karney BR. To know you is to love you: The implications of global adoration and specific accuracy for marital relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2005;88(3):480-497.

76. Adamson JA, Ebrahim S, Hunt K. The psychosocial versus material hypothesis to explain observed inequality in disability among older adults: Data from the West of Scotland Twenty-07 Study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 2006;60(11):974-980.

77. Schneiderman N, Ironson G, Siegel SD. Stress and health: Psychological, behavioral, and biological determinants. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology. 2005;1:607-628.

78. McDonough P, Walters V. Gender and health: reassessing patterns and explanations. Social Science & Medicine. 2001;52:547-559.

79. Robertson S. Men managing health. Men’s Health Journal. 2003;2(4):111-113.

80. West C, Zimmerman DH. Accounting for doing gender. Gender & Society. 2009;23(1):112-122.

81. Marcos-Marcos J, Romo-Avilés N, del Río-Lozano M, Palomares-Cuadros J, García-Calvete MM. Performing masculinity, influencing health: a qualitative mixed-methods study of Spanish young men. Global Health Action. 2013;6:1.

82. Graham H. Building an Inter-disciplinary science of health inequalities: The example of life-course research. Social Science & Medicine. 2002;55(11):2006-2016.

83. Ben-Shlomo Y, Kuh D. A lifecourse approach to chronic disease epidemiology: Conceptual models, empirical challenges and interdisciplinary perspectives. International Journal of Epidemiology. 2002;31(2):285-293.

84. Arber S, Thomas H. From women’s health to a gender analysis of health. En: Cockerham WC, (ed.). The Blackwell companion to medical sociology. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing; 2001. p. 94-113.

85. Connell RW. Masculinities. Cambridge: Polity Press in association with Blackwell; 1995.

86. Artazcoz L, Cortés I, Borrell C, Escribá-Agüir V, Cascant L. Social inequalities in the association between partner/marital status and health among workers in Spain. Social Science & Medicine. 2011;72(4):600-607.

87. Lohan M. How might we understand men’s health better? Integrating explanations from critical studies on men and inequalities in health. Social Science & Medicine. 2007;65:493-504.