There have been a lot of studies about the differences between men and women when it comes to senior health and lifespan. General observations of statistics and longevity show that women tend to live about five years longer than men, but science isn’t really sure about why this is.
One observation that has been pointed out is that men do not go to the doctor as often as women. Whether or not this is part of the discrepancy in lifespans is debatable. These lifespans differ all over the world so it is likely not an access to medical care issue. However, because women tend to go to the doctors more often, there has been a discussion about whether or not men are reluctant to seek out care. The long held narrative is that, yes, men are less willing to go to the doctors. A new look at this issue may tell us a different story, though.
This new study looked at men, women, and the issue of seeking out care. The conclusion wasn’t that men are more reluctant to go to the doctor, but rather that they have different trigger points that will prompt them to get themselves to the doctor.
One of the main observations that led to this conclusion was the reality that once men and women are connected with care, their usages of their support team did not differ. For example, if a man has a heart attack and needs to go see a doctor on a regular basis for checkups and evaluations, his usage of the medical system was no different than if a woman had gone through the same. The noted difference was only about one percent–not large enough to be significant in this study.
The big difference was that men do not think that medical conditions tend to be as serious as women. When men are genuinely worried about their health, they go to a doctor. The same held true for women in this observation. The fear of a diagnosis also contributed to not seeing a physician. Although it doesn’t make sense, a lot of people tend to hold off on scheduling appointments because they don’t want bad news.
The findings were published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health at the end of April.
So, men just might not be as stubborn as we are made out to be. However, that doesn’t mean that we will go to the doctor’s for the same reasons as women. Rather than getting frustrated about this, understanding motivations can help us to get along better with family members. It won’t solve any major issues, but it might make communication and understanding a little bit easier–especially for older married couples.
And as always, we’re here to help in any way that we can. COVID-19 has made it a little bit more difficult for people to connect, but you are still able to reach out by phone, email, and social media. We’re here to help answer your senior care questions and help your family get pointed down the right road when it comes to assisting your older loved ones.
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