ALTHOUGH men do not live as bong as women and have higher suicide levels, they visit the doctor less often, a conference was told yesterday.
The conference, at University College, Cork, organised by men's groups from Cork family centres, beard that men were afraid to seek help for intimate problems because of their self perceived "macho" role and that personal development programmes for men, paid for by the Department of Social Welfare, were not being supported even though funding was available.
Dr Harry Ferguson, senior lecturer with the department of applied social studies at UCC, said that men made up more than two thirds of the people who did note consult a doctor regularly even though they were admitted to emergency services more often than women. We are poorly tuned into our bodies, we are embarrassed about such matters."
Sixty delegates attended the conference, many of whom criticised doctors for having different attitudes to men than to women. One delegate said that it was noticeable in a doctor's surgery that men spent only a short time with the doctor, while women discussed their problems for longer.
Dr Ferguson said that many health care professionals felt more uncomfortable around men than they did around women, and added that men needed to become more aware of their own needs.
The conference was also told that poor communication skills were the main factor in men's tendency to bottle up problems. "We sit beside a fellow in the pub and the only thing that will be asked is `What are you having?' Women ring around their friends, talk about their problems and get advice," said another delegate.
Dr Ferguson said research had shown that many unemployed men suffered from depression and that, in some areas, they were up to five times as likely to commit suicide as women.