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Research Centre for Young People, Technology and Wellbeing
There has been much focus, especially in the past
few years, about men's health, and the reasons why they don't go
out and seek help when they need it. Ask a man why they don't
seek help, and they'll most likely say 'I don't know' or 'That's
what girls do'. There appears to be a large amount of stigma
associated with help-seeking. For a man to think to himself, 'Ouch,
my leg really hurts, I'm going to go get this checked out', they'd
most likely be an exception to the rule.
And then there's mental health. Most men would
prefer to not talk about their 'problems' or 'emotions'. There's a
real fear that for a lot of guys, they'll lose their sense of
manliness if they do. The idea of having a mental health problem
poses as a threat to a lot of men - they can feel as though by
acknowledging negative feelings they'll lose part of who they are,
part of their masculinity.
Something often forgotten in the whole masculinity
and help seeking debate however is that of control. Men feel better
about themselves if they're able to take control over who they are,
where they're going in life etc. Although mental health problems
can be seen as posing a threat to this, it's really all about how
they're spoken about. It's our role as part of the youth sector to
help young men take control of their mental health. One thing that
can help us along the way is by using technology.
A little while ago, The Alfred Hospital in
Melbourne launched an iPhone application called MyHealthMate. Sure,
there are a lot of medical applications out there, but what makes
MyHealthMate different is that it's an app specifically for
men.
Although it doesn't deal with mental health,
something like the MyHealthMate app can be an invaluable resource
for men. It, quite literally, puts control into the hands of
Australian men. It also let's men keep their problems to
themselves. This level of privacy is really important for men, as
it lets them take control of their problem.
The MyHealthMate application is broken up into a
few different sections. But the main section would be the symptom
checker. Showing an image of a male body, the symptom checker let's
you select a part of the body that you are feeling pain in, and
provides some advice and tips on what to do. For example, by
clicking on the chest, three options come up: Breathlessness, Chest
Pain, and Coughing. By clicking on one of the symptoms, it then
provides a list of the most common illnesses that occur with that
symptom and provides 'healthy tips' on how to reduce the pain as
well as provide links to relevant health organisations.
The simplicity of this process makes the idea of
seeking help appear a bit easier. Although I can't speak for all
young men, I know I'd prefer to check out the application and find
out some info myself before I choose to have that awkward
conversation with my doctor.
Another feature of the symptom checker is the
Expert section. At the top of all the illnesses listed, they have a
picture and name of an expert in the field. The app could still
provide the information without the photo and name, but I think the
fact that men are seeing that this information is coming from an
'expert' legitimises it. It's not something trivial anymore. If you
compare this to some of the information made available online, the
very fact that the app is made by The Alfred Hospital and they have
experts giving advice makes it far more reliable.
I was surprised that the application made no
mention of mental health (I clicked on the head on the symptom
checker expecting to find something on mental health, but nothing).
But something like this showcases the great potential new
technology can play in assisting the health care of young people.
And, I strongly believe that having an application where you can
access mental health support can be extremely helpful, especially
for young men.
It also showcases the potential new technology can
have for health care professionals and how they interact with young
people. Using things like iPhone applications as engagement tools
can be an effective way of making sure young people receive the
support that they need. Whether its tools like MyHealthMate, or
something that requires direct contact and interaction such as an
SMS appointment making system, utilising the potential of new
technology brings opportunities for both young people and health
care professionals.
There has been much focus, especially in the past few years,
about men's health, and the reasons why they don't go out and seek
help when they need it. Ask a man why they don't seek help,
and they'll most likely say 'I don't know' or 'That's what girls
do'. There appears to be a large amount of stigma associated with
help-seeking. For a man to think to himself, 'Ouch, my leg really
hurts, I'm going to go get this checked out', they'd most likely be
an exception to the rule.
And then there's mental health. Most men would prefer to not
talk about their 'problems' or 'emotions'. There's a real fear that
for a lot of guys, they'll lose their sense of manliness if they
do. The idea of having a mental health problem poses as a threat to
a lot of men - they can feel as though by acknowledging negative
feelings they'll lose part of who they are, part of their
masculinity.
Something often forgotten in the whole masculinity and help
seeking debate however is that of control. Men feel better about
themselves if they're able to take control over who they are, where
they're going in life etc. Although mental health problems can be
seen as posing a threat to this, it's really all about how they're
spoken about. It's our role as part of the youth sector to help
young men take control of their mental health. One thing that can
help us along the way is by using technology.
A little while ago, The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne launched an
iPhone application called MyHealthMate. Sure, there are a lot of
medical applications out there, but what makes MyHealthMate
different is that it's an app specifically for men.
Although it doesn't deal with mental health, something like the
MyHealthMate app can be an invaluable resource for men. It, quite
literally, puts control into the hands of Australian men. It also
let's men keep their problems to themselves. This level of privacy
is really important for men, as it lets them take control of their
problem.
The MyHealthMate application is broken up into a few different
sections. But the main section would be the symptom checker.
Showing an image of a male body, the symptom checker let's you
select a part of the body that you are feeling pain in, and
provides some advice and tips on what to do. For example, by
clicking on the chest, three options come up: Breathlessness, Chest
Pain, and Coughing. By clicking on one of the symptoms, it then
provides a list of the most common illnesses that occur with that
symptom and provides 'healthy tips' on how to reduce the pain as
well as provide links to relevant health organisations.
The simplicity of this process makes the idea of seeking help
appear a bit easier. Although I can't speak for all young men, I
know I'd prefer to check out the application and find out some info
myself before I choose to have that awkward conversation with my
doctor.
Another feature of the symptom checker is the Expert section. At
the top of all the illnesses listed, they have a picture and name
of an expert in the field. The app could still provide the
information without the photo and name, but I think the fact that
men are seeing that this information is coming from an 'expert'
legitimises it. It's not something trivial anymore. If you compare
this to some of the information made available online, the very
fact that the app is made by The Alfred Hospital and they have
experts giving advice makes it far more reliable.
I was surprised that the application made no mention of mental
health (I clicked on the head on the symptom checker expecting to
find something on mental health, but nothing). But something like
this showcases the great potential new technology can play in
assisting the health care of young people. And, I strongly believe
that having an application where you can access mental health
support can be extremely helpful, especially for young men.
It also showcases the potential new technology can have for
health care professionals and how they interact with young people.
Using things like iPhone applications as engagement tools can be an
effective way of making sure young people receive the support that
they need. Whether its tools like MyHealthMate, or something that
requires direct contact and interaction such as an SMS appointment
making system, utilising the potential of new technology brings
opportunities for both young people and health care
professionals.