Table 1 Barriers that men face in participating in healthy lifestyle group education sessions
Barriers | Topics | Specific explanations |
|---|---|---|
Internal barriers | Time | - Lack of time |
Gender roles | - Belief that men have to be strong | |
- Perception that activities are geared toward women | ||
Age | - Perception of not fitting in; others in the group are older | |
- Too old to learn | ||
Perception of chronic condition | - Concern that if they found one chronic condition they might find another | |
- Not inspiring to be with others who have your condition | ||
- Sufficient to go to a clinic visit with the doctor | ||
- Fatalistic view of disease | ||
External barriers | Work | - Conflicting work schedules |
- Type of work that does not allow for committing to regular attendance | ||
Health center staffing, programs, and communication with staff | - Health center staffing is limited on weekends when men might be more likely to attend | |
- Mostly female providers that may inhibit men from participating | ||
- Some health centers do not offer educational sessions | ||
- Under-resourced health centers turn people off from participating | ||
- Communication gap with provider about who may attend |