Title: Men’s health in oncology: a survey of (Australian) senior cancer nurses.
Aims: Australian men are more likely than women to be diagnosed with cancer, and die from preventable cancers. Gendered health promotion has been shown to improve men’s engagement with health services, with nurses playing a central role in information delivery and healthcare design. The primary aim of this research was to survey senior clinical and executive nurses on their understanding and perception of men’s health.
Methods:
Cross-sectional quantitative online survey was attended by senior nurses within a single hospital setting in metropolitan Sydney, NSW June 2022 and July 2022. Sampling selection was conducted of nurses who currently hold senior clinical or management roles within the health district, with descriptive analysis applied to interpret the data sets.
Results:
A total of 83 responses were received, representing a 32.8% survey participation rate. 22.8% of respondents identified as senior cancer nurses (n=19). A key finding was that 52.6% of cancer nurses believed gender to be a determinant of health, versus 61% of total respondents. Over 80% of cancer nurses believe that traditional masculine traits such as stoicism and machoism affect health-seeking behaviour among men. Despite this, only 36.8% have discussed men’s specific agencies with their patients or clients.
Conclusions
The results of this single-site online survey of senior cancer nurses illustrate that while foundational understandings of gender were divided, there remained strong endorsement for targeted men’s health promotion to patients and the development of men’s health educational programs to support cancer nurses in providing holistic care for their male patients.