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Missing in Action: A Review of State, Federal and International Sources of Information on Men's Health
December 2021 There is strong evidence of a paucity of policies, programs and leadership related to young men’s health at the federal and state levels. Hence, little work has been attempted in the area of policy advocacy on behalf of young men’s health. This contrasts with the relative wealth of policies, programs and leadership related to young women’s health, and a strong advocacy network to promote those causes. There are a variety causes and reasons for this disparity. Chief among them is the fact that after they reach puberty most males become disengaged from the health care system; unlike young females, who transition from pediatricians to gynecologists for their health care, young males are left adrift for health care once they leave pediatric care. The Partnership for Male Youth (PMY) has documented these disparities in care in its Health Provider Toolkit for Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Males and subsequent resources and projects. Much work remains to be done to further identify the unique and unmet health related needs of adolescent and young adult (AYA) males; in the meantime, an advocacy network needs to be built to promote better and new federal and state policies in this realm. |
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Better and new federal and state policies related to AYA male health cannot be developed and proposed without first understanding the landscape of this issue. PMY has therefore conducted an analysis of state and federal sources of information on men’s health, and contrasted those with public and private sector men’s health policies on the international level. In short, the US falls far behind a number of other countries in terms of men’s health policy development. These international policy prescriptions can serve as models for similar initiatives in the US. The PMY report therefore lays out a number of recommendations for how that can be accomplished.
“Strong advocacy at the ground level is essential to policy change. As important are champions of policy change at the federal and state leadership levels – member of Congress, policymakers within the Administration, program officers for state and federal programs and health care leaders,” said David Bell, MD, MPH PMY Board Chair. “A specific example of potential pressure points for change could be the development of a young men’s health caucus within Congress, composed not just of males but of females who also serve as parents and caregivers to young males. Similarly, an office of young men’s health within the Administration could be an appropriate goal,” he said.
It is PMY’s intention to advocate for the recommendations in the report and it plans to partner with other organizations in an effort to begin building a policy agenda for AYA male health. For more information contact Dennis Barbour, PMY President and CEO, at [email protected].
“Strong advocacy at the ground level is essential to policy change. As important are champions of policy change at the federal and state leadership levels – member of Congress, policymakers within the Administration, program officers for state and federal programs and health care leaders,” said David Bell, MD, MPH PMY Board Chair. “A specific example of potential pressure points for change could be the development of a young men’s health caucus within Congress, composed not just of males but of females who also serve as parents and caregivers to young males. Similarly, an office of young men’s health within the Administration could be an appropriate goal,” he said.
It is PMY’s intention to advocate for the recommendations in the report and it plans to partner with other organizations in an effort to begin building a policy agenda for AYA male health. For more information contact Dennis Barbour, PMY President and CEO, at [email protected].