How can men improve their health and seek support when societal pressures make them think they can’t? This is the challenge facing healthcare professionals.
Once, stoicism was a teaching or philosophy that focused on responding well to life and being able to endure it when it becomes difficult. Today, calling someone “stoic” is more associated with being unemotional, shut down, or quietly putting up with hardship, and applies particularly to the male population.
This is a major reason why men’s health and oral health remains an uphill battle. In a survey, 48 per cent of men agreed that they felt obligated to ‘tough it out’ when faced with a health concern. One-third also said that talking about their health and any anxieties might make others see them as weak, reducing confidence and creating a feeling of isolation.
The stoic mindset partly explains why male patients are less proactive in both their overall health and their oral health, and have been found to attend far fewer dental appointments than female patients.
One point of interest is that, despite what feels like a growing awareness or transgression of traditional gender roles, it is the older generation who are more proactive with their care even if they did grow up in more stoic times. Younger men are actually less likely to choose professional sources of help, though this could be due to experiencing more barriers to healthcare engagement.
It is a challenge to instil a proactive approach to health among male patients. Friendship networks play a crucial part in this – if men are surrounded by other men who take care of themselves and look out for each other, it feels easier to visit a healthcare provider or have discussions about it as there is no perceived weakness in doing so. Conversely, living around the ‘tough it out’ attitude makes it harder. If something feels wrong, the longer it is left unreported the worse the problem can become – toughing it out is no guarantee of success. This mentality contributes to the overall lower life expectancy among men compared to women.
Speaking out is vital to encourage men to look after their health. Recently, Jeremy Clarkson was diagnosed with prostate cancer, prompting a national response that saw thousands of men complete online risk checkers for the condition. Encouraging a proactive approach is essential and has proven successful.
The stoic mindset can be changed through a stronger educational awareness and
oral care is no exception. Whilst daily toothbrushing may seem a small task in the grand scheme of things, the links found between oral diseases and wider systemic problems like cardiovascular disease and cancer paint a different picture where every tooth clean counts.
Fostering meaningful conversations with male patients can help swing the pendulum away from the stoic attitude and towards a healthier and more sustainable mindset.
>Since you’re here, why not read about Stefan White’s journey from defying death to defying a dental brand?
Main image credit: Unsplash
