SACHRU: A Primary Health Care Approach to Men’s Health in Community Health Settings

This resource offers useful insights and examples of successful primary health care and health promotion in community health settings.

"These are the kinds of practices that have delivered effective results within South Australia towards men's health..." 

In 2007, the South Australian Department of Health and Flinders University collaboprated to produce this resource which sets out background and approaches to working with men in primary health care within the community health sector.

It was designed to provide community health practitioners with

• examples of the kinds of practices that have delivered effective results within South Australia towards men's health,
• practical examples of how better practice for men’s health is applied in various community health settings,
• education, training and development for community health service providers in relation to men’s health and wellbeing,
• provision of information and resources on men’s health and wellbeing, and
• a focus on primary health care, health promotion and illness prevention in community health settings

Importantly, the approach takes a social view of health through early life to later life and looks at the causes of male health outcomes rather than trying to apply diagnostic and treatment solutions towards managing established problems. Nearly all of the case studies in this project share the following features:

• They have a social view of health
• They take a primary health care approach, with an emphasis on prevention.
• They address issues of access and equity.
• They use social justice principles.
• They work across a number of sectors.

In addition, a majority of the case studies place strong emphasis on:

• The relationship of their work to the wellbeing of women and children and different groups of men,
• Safety and respect (for the individual and for others),
• Accountability for their work,
• Individuals taking responsibility for their actions and choices, and
• Community development, participation and inclusion.

Implications And Insights For Practitioners

The potential for developing primary health care approaches using Just Better Practice are in:

• addressing health inequities within men’s health that are related to, amongst others, class, race, ethnicity and sexuality,
• working collaboratively with women’s health on common concerns such as violence intervention and childhood sexual abuse, and
• primary health care services that reflect local concerns and where health professionals work with men rather than acting as outside experts, that is, they are ‘on tap, not on top’