Nurse Practitioners as Essential Providers of Men's Health

Some of the possible reasons for this disparity in life spans include the following: men are less likely than women to access primary care and engage in prevention; men spend less time in a physician or nurse practitioner's (NP's) office as compared to women; men do not ask the in-depth questions that women ask about their health when visiting a health provider, so they receive less patient education; men are more likely than women to engage in high-risk behaviors that adversely impact health, such as tobacco, alcohol, and illegal drug use1; and men choose occupations and participate in recreational activities that may cause injury and have a negative impact on health. Some possible examples include expanding male focused clinics; having occupational health programs, including onsite physicals and screenings; having fitness rooms at the work site; offering employee discounts for gym membership; negotiating with employer insurance companies to provide free or discounted annual screening and physical exams; and having work-sponsored intramural sporting activities.