Issues

Facts about Men's Health in Northern Ireland

• on average Northern Irish men die substantially younger than women
  
  
• 67% of all people who die from heart disease in Northern Ireland under the age of 75 are male
  
  
• Prostate cancer – as a percentage of all cancers diagnosed in Northern Ireland has risen from 9.7% in 1993 to 11.4% in 1998
  
  
• It is interesting to note that in Northern Ireland, for every one woman dying from cervical cancer, six men will die from prostate cancer
  
  
• eleven times as many men in Northern Ireland will take their own lives as women
  
  
• 40% of men will not attend their G.P. unless told to do so by their partner

(Source: The Men's Health Forum in Ireland – Dr Ian Banks)

Men:

• are not a homogenous group with identical needs.
  
  
• do care about health issues, but often find it difficult to express their fears.
  
  
• are much less likely to visit a G.P/dentist than women.
  
  
• are more likely to die than females at all ages.
  
  
• take more risk with their health than women: they are more likely to drink more than the recommended alcohol limits, to smoke, to be overweight, to use illegal drugs or to expose themselves to the sun without using sun cream.
  
  
• aged 16-34 are more than twice as likely to have a major or minor accident. 
   
• tend to attend their G.P. later in the course of a condition than women, and this phenomenon is exaggerated by social class inequalities.
  
  
• Men's groups, or highlighting the needs of men, should not to be viewed as an anti-women development. 

Boys to Men :

Concerns expressed by Men as Fathers :

• the role of fathering is undervalued and often invisible.
  
  
• pregnancy & Birth – Fathers often experience exclusion or feelings of being of less importance.
  
  
• there are few stories or images of fathers and fathering in the media and press.
  
  
• fathers speak of terrible damage to themselves and to their relationship with their children by the current interpretation of the law.
  
  
• a boy might wonder what his role is to be in relation to children. Yet we expect them to suddenly become responsive, involved and capable as we hand them their baby in hospital.

Key Research Findings on Fathers:

• Fathers are the main carers for children while mothers are working.
  
  
• most men say they enjoy having close relationships with their children.
  
  
• Fathers from a diversity of social and ethnic backgrounds usually say fathering is the most important part of their lives.
  
  
• A parent's gender is far less important in affecting child development than broader similar qualities such as warmth and kindness.
  
  
• Men feel deeply moved by the experience of childbirth. Nine out of ten fathers attend the delivery of their babies.
  
  
• Mothers report that fathers are their main source of emotional support after the birth.
  
  
• How fathers spend time with their young children is more important to the father-child relationship than how often they are with them.
  
  
• Some studies suggest that fathers help particularly in preparing the child for the outside world and developing ''social skills''.
  
  
• Fathers are as sensitive and responsive to their young children as mothers are.
  
  
• Fathers and mothers give their babies the same amount of affection.
  
  
• Babies usually 'bond' as easily with their fathers as with their mothers
  
  
• Step fathers often become more involved in domestic life than biological fathers.
  
  
• When fathers are involved with their children before the age of 11, they are more likely to escape having a criminal record by the age of 21.
  
  
• in 10% of families affected by divorce the father is the parent whom the children live for most or all of the time.
  (Source: Lewis and Warren 2001)