NZ needs a men’s health strategy

The Conversation published:

Successive New Zealand governments have failed to develop a policy or strategy focused on men’s health, falling behind countries like Mongolia, Australia, Ireland, Iran, Malaysia, South Africa, Brazil and the state of Quebec.

The consequences of this failure for New Zealand men are dire, with research showing men falling behind women in terms of access to health care, diagnoses and overall life expectancy.

I blogged back in 2018 how men are:

• Seven times more likely to commit suicide
• Six times more likely to be subject to a mental health compulsory treatment order
• Seven times more likely to be a mental health special patient
• 113% more likely to be a hazardous drinker
• 67% more likely to drink drive
• Twice as likely to be a user of hard drugs
• 10% more likely to get cancer
• 74% more likely to have coronary heart disease
• 31% more likely to have a stroke
• 270% more likely to have gout
• 11% more likely to have diabetes
• Ten times more likely to have HIV/AIDs
• Four years shorter life expectancy
• 24% more likely to be a smoker
• 11% more likely to be obese
• 28% more likely to have high blood pressure
• 33% more likely to have high cholesterol
• 46% more likely to have an intellectual disability
• 22% more likely to be hearing impaired

You would think all of these inequalities would lead to the Government saying we should have a strategy to close the gap between men and women by improving outcomes for men. But, no.