Half of American men do not receive sexual and reproductive health care, and many of those who do receive only limited services, according to "Patterns of Men’s Use of Sexual and Reproductive Health Services," by Debra Kalmuss and Carrie Tatum, published in the June 2007 issue of Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health.
Kalmuss and Tatum’s study, based on data from the National Survey of Family Growth, finds that only 48% of men received any sexual or reproductive health services in the past year, most commonly a testicular exam (35%) or services for HIV (21%) or other STDs (19%). Further, 70% of men did not receive any of the most common nontesticular services—STD services, HIV care and birth control services—at all in the past year. These findings are particularly alarming given existing research suggesting high levels of unprotected sex and other risk behaviors among men.
The authors suggest a need for more accessible sexual health services for men, and note that several factors make it difficult to achieve that goal. There is currently a lack of formal screening or service guidelines for males, and a shortage of comprehensive or integrated services for men’s health care. Add to that the economic barrier—22% of men aged 20–44 lack health insurance—and the finding that men are not accessing the services they need is not surprising.
Men’s Health Week, June 11–18, is a good time to raise awareness of the current gaps in men’s access to sexual and reproductive health care, and to think about how to improve the situation. Recommendations from the study’s authors include finding consensus among health care providers on the standards of care for clinical practice by identifying which services men need and at what age and how often they need them; performing outreach to assure men that sexual and reproductive health care is both necessary and appropriate; and increasing public funding for men’s sexual and reproductive health care so that men’s services do not have to compete with women’s services for already limited resources.
Also in this issue:
"Stepfather Involvement and Adolescents’ Disposition Toward Having Sex," by Chadwick Menning et al.;
"Factors Associated with Contraceptive Use and Nonuse, United States, 2004," by Jennifer J. Frost et al.;
"I Wanna Hold Your Hand: The Progression of Social, Romantic and Sexual Events in Adolescent Relationships," by Lucia F. O’Sullivan et al.;
"Association Between Adolescent Pregnancy and a Family History of Teenage Births," by Patricia L. East et al.; and
"Sex Education and Sexual Socialization: Roles for Educators and Parents," by Ronny A. Shtarkshall et al.