Rural Men’s Health, Health Information Seeking, and Gender Identities: A Conceptual Theoretical Review of the Literature
Beginning as early as 2009, recent shifts in Canadian health care delivery indicate that access to health information is essential to promote and maintain a healthy population. It is important to understand how and where various populations, such as underresourced rural populations, access health in...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
2018-07-01
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| Series: | American Journal of Men's Health |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/1557988316649177 |
| _version_ | 1828785996115738624 |
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| author | Bradley Hiebert MSc Beverly Leipert PhD, RN Sandra Regan PhD, RN Jacquelyn Burkell PhD |
| author_facet | Bradley Hiebert MSc Beverly Leipert PhD, RN Sandra Regan PhD, RN Jacquelyn Burkell PhD |
| author_sort | Bradley Hiebert MSc |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Beginning as early as 2009, recent shifts in Canadian health care delivery indicate that access to health information is essential to promote and maintain a healthy population. It is important to understand how and where various populations, such as underresourced rural populations, access health information so that public health agencies can develop and deliver appropriate information with, for, and in these contexts. There is a paucity of research that specifically examines how rural Canadian men seek health information; therefore, this review aimed to conceptualize this process based on three dynamic key constructs: health patterns of rural Canadians, health information–seeking behaviors, and rural gender identities. This conceptual theoretical literature review included 91 articles at the intersection of these three constructs. Discussion focuses on how residing in a rural region influences men’s health and health care access. Health information–seeking behaviors are discussed in terms of social networks and framed with a rural context. Connell’s theory of masculinity provides a useful approach to dissecting how rural men’s gender identities influence their health attitudes, and how such attitudes are embedded in rural social and cultural norms. Each major construct—health in rural Canada, health information seeking, and rural gender identities—is discussed to highlight how specific embodiments of masculinity may promote and inhibit men’s health information–seeking and positive health behaviors. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T00:02:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2bc7675558ca4be99763ff349ab2db22 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1557-9883 1557-9891 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T00:02:32Z |
| publishDate | 2018-07-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | American Journal of Men's Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-2bc7675558ca4be99763ff349ab2db222022-12-22T00:45:11ZengSAGE PublishingAmerican Journal of Men's Health1557-98831557-98912018-07-011210.1177/1557988316649177Rural Men’s Health, Health Information Seeking, and Gender Identities: A Conceptual Theoretical Review of the LiteratureBradley Hiebert MSc0Beverly Leipert PhD, RN1Sandra Regan PhD, RN2Jacquelyn Burkell PhD3Western University, London, Ontario, CanadaWestern University, London, Ontario, CanadaWestern University, London, Ontario, CanadaWestern University, London, Ontario, CanadaBeginning as early as 2009, recent shifts in Canadian health care delivery indicate that access to health information is essential to promote and maintain a healthy population. It is important to understand how and where various populations, such as underresourced rural populations, access health information so that public health agencies can develop and deliver appropriate information with, for, and in these contexts. There is a paucity of research that specifically examines how rural Canadian men seek health information; therefore, this review aimed to conceptualize this process based on three dynamic key constructs: health patterns of rural Canadians, health information–seeking behaviors, and rural gender identities. This conceptual theoretical literature review included 91 articles at the intersection of these three constructs. Discussion focuses on how residing in a rural region influences men’s health and health care access. Health information–seeking behaviors are discussed in terms of social networks and framed with a rural context. Connell’s theory of masculinity provides a useful approach to dissecting how rural men’s gender identities influence their health attitudes, and how such attitudes are embedded in rural social and cultural norms. Each major construct—health in rural Canada, health information seeking, and rural gender identities—is discussed to highlight how specific embodiments of masculinity may promote and inhibit men’s health information–seeking and positive health behaviors.https://doi.org/10.1177/1557988316649177 |
| spellingShingle | Bradley Hiebert MSc Beverly Leipert PhD, RN Sandra Regan PhD, RN Jacquelyn Burkell PhD Rural Men’s Health, Health Information Seeking, and Gender Identities: A Conceptual Theoretical Review of the Literature American Journal of Men's Health |
| title | Rural Men’s Health, Health Information Seeking, and Gender Identities: A Conceptual Theoretical Review of the Literature |
| title_full | Rural Men’s Health, Health Information Seeking, and Gender Identities: A Conceptual Theoretical Review of the Literature |
| title_fullStr | Rural Men’s Health, Health Information Seeking, and Gender Identities: A Conceptual Theoretical Review of the Literature |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rural Men’s Health, Health Information Seeking, and Gender Identities: A Conceptual Theoretical Review of the Literature |
| title_short | Rural Men’s Health, Health Information Seeking, and Gender Identities: A Conceptual Theoretical Review of the Literature |
| title_sort | rural men s health health information seeking and gender identities a conceptual theoretical review of the literature |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/1557988316649177 |
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