Determinants of Young Men's Help-Seeking Behavior: Insights From a National Australian Survey

Young men face unique barriers to accessing health care, contributing to poor health outcomes. We used data from 188 Australian men aged 18-34 years, who participated in a nationally representative cross-sectional survey, to examine the relationships between health literacy, health empowerment, social support, loneliness, and barriers to health care. Structural equation modeling was used to examine direct and indirect associations, adjusting for sociodemographic factors and health status. Loneliness and health literacy were consistently associated with barriers to help-seeking. Higher health literacy was linked to lower barriers (β = -0.26, p = .001), whereas higher loneliness was associated with higher barriers (β = 0.24, p = .007). Higher health empowerment was associated with lower concrete barriers and distrust of caregivers (β = -0.20, p = .007), and loneliness was found to be indirectly associated with concrete barriers and distrust of caregivers through health empowerment (β = 0.07, p = .024). Social support was not associated with barriers to help-seeking. These findings underscore the importance of health literacy and loneliness as consistent determinants of help-seeking and highlight the role of health empowerment in reducing practical and interpersonal access barriers. The results can inform the design of interventions to improve health care engagement among young men.