Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/222943

Title

They just treat you as a number: Aspects of men's experience in a Melbourne sexual health service

Author(s)

Smith, Anthony M. A.;  Mischewski, Anton;  Gifford, Sandy

Abstract

Given that men characteristically delay seeking health care, little attention has been paid to the characteristics of health care services which are attractive to men. In this paper we explore men's experiences of a metropolitan sexual health service, and focus on those aspects that they see as positive and desirable. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 29 men, we identify three key themes. Firstly, confidential, cost-free and anonymous services are preferred, with anonymity and confidentiality offering men the opportunity to deal with a sexual health problem in a setting safely quarantined from their social world. The second theme was one of expertise on the part of the clinical staff--a theme which resonated with a broadly held masculine appreciation of technical expertise. The final theme was that termed the 'asocial body', which referred to the men's desire to present their body and its ailments in mechanistic terms in a way unrelated to their social and sexual lives. These three themes suggest that men's appropriate use of sexual health services could be increased through appealing to the masculine values associated with technical expertise but that clinical staff must anticipate and counteract men's expectation that the consultation deal with the asocial body.

Publication type

Journal article

Source

Venereology, Vol. 12, no. 1 (1999), pp. 15-19

Publication year

1999

Keyword(s)

Australia;  Confidentiality;  Cost effectiveness analysis;  Health care utilization;  Heterosexuality;  Homosexuality;  Masculinity;  Professional practice;  Public health service;  Sexuality;  Sexually transmitted disease;  Social interaction

Publisher

Venereology Publishing

ISSN

1032-1012

Copyright

Copyright © 1999.

Peer reviewed