This Article Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 1557988306294163v1 1/4/242    most recent References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hunter, J. B. Articles by Coe, M. K. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Male Preventive Health Behaviors: Perceptions From Men, Women, and Clinical Staff Along the U.S.—Mexico Border

Southwest Center for Community Health Promotion, University of Arizona, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, Tucson, jhunter{at}coph.arizona.edu

Maria Lourdes Fernandez

Southwest Center for Community Health Promotion, University of Arizona, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, Tucson

Charles R. Lacy-Martinez, MPH

Office of Border Health, Arizona Department of Health Services, Phoenix

Andrea M. Dunne-Sosa, BA

Columbia University, New York

M. Kathryn Coe, PhD

Southwest Center for Community Health Promotion, University of Arizona, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, Tucson

Mexican American males have higher levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides, higher body mass indexes, and a higher prevalence of diabetes than do non-Hispanic White males. They are the least likely Hispanic subgroup to be insured, to have recently visited a physician, or to have preventive exams. To explore factors related to the use of preventive exams among mature men, and specifically among Mexican American men residing along the Arizona, United States/Sonora, Mexico border, information on barriers and motivating factors to male participation in preventive screening exams was collected. Interviews were conducted with mature men and women from a single border community and with clinical staff from three different border communities who deliver services to similar populations. Responses were triangulated. Common themes identified include health education/information/advertisement and female/family support as motivating factors and machismo/denial/fatalism as a barrier to male health-seeking behavior.

Key Words: male screening exams • U.S.—Mexico border

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?