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DOI: 10.1177/1363459304043468 Male Callers to NHS Direct: The Assertive Carer, the New Dad and the Reluctant PatientUniversity of Nottingham, UK, jackie.goode{at}nottingham.ac.uk
University of Leicester, UK
University of Sheffield, UK
University of Sheffield, UK
London Metropolitan University, UK
University of Nottingham, UK It has been suggested in the light of mortality and morbidity rates, and mens reluctance to seek medical help and advice, that there is a crisis in mens health. Little is known about mens experiences of using health care services, despite an emergent UK mens health movement. NHS Direct, the new telephone advice line, was designed to be more accessible, convenient and responsive to the publics needs for health care. In-depth interviews with male callers to the service, aged between 29 and 59, reveal that they sought help in their roles as fathers, partners and on their own behalf. Having used it once, they anticipated doing so again. Their learning about health matters, from both the formal structure and the informal agenda of the telephone consultation, suggests the potential of mens use of this service for normalizing help seeking by men, and thereby for longer-term improvements in mens health.
Key Words: gender information and communication technology mens health NHS Direct
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