Preventive Care in the Context of Men's Health

This study assessed the effectiveness of a health intervention, in diabetes education and risk assessment, to motivate men to take positive action, within the framework of the Health Belief Model. The worksite-based intervention targeted 525 men aged between 40 and 65 years from 27 organizations in the south-west of Western Australia in 1999/2000. Men identified as high risk were referred to their general practitioner. The adopted strategy had a number of strengths, namely that the health risk assessment was topic-specific, personalized, conducted on the worksite and combined with an educational component and a medical follow-up. The focus groups component of the study gave further understanding as to why the adopted strategy had been appropriate for men's needs.