The most recent issue of CrossCurrents magazine focuses on men’s mental health and addiction. It examines the male experience of masculinity, mental health and addiction problems and help-seeking, as well as unique opportunities to meet the needs of men. CrossCurrents is a national magazine published by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto.
Feminists have long called for more sensitive and appropriate health care for women. Yet around the world, men die sooner than women, they have higher rates of smoking, alcohol use issues and heart disease, and they are less likely to seek treatment. Men are also much more likely than women to kill themselves. If a gender perspective reveals inequities for women, it can also discover areas of concern for men.
Research shows that biological and socially constructed differences between women and men contribute to gender differences in the nature of health problems, health-seeking behaviour and responses of health care providers. Clearly, both men and women suffer when health care professionals and policy-makers fail to understand how gender influences health and health care.
See “Tough Guise: Reaching Out to Men,” CrossCurrents, Summer 2010. To order a copy of the issue, contact publications@camh.net or call toll free 1-800-661-1111, or within Toronto, call 416-595-6059. You can also visit the website for more information at www.camhcrosscurrents.net.