THE state of men\u2019s health in Victoria is lagging women\u2019s health, according to a new report published during Men\u2019s Health Week.<\/p>\n
The Men\u2019s Health Report Card 2019, released by the Australian Men\u2019s Health Forum (AMHF), highlights several areas of concern including the fact that men in Victoria are dying 5.2 years younger than women on average.<\/p>\n
AMHF, the national peak body for men\u2019s health, is calling on the Victorian government to invest more time, money and resources into improving the lives and health of men and boys.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis report card on the state of men and boys\u2019 health in Victoria tells us we must do better,\u201d AMHF president Jonathan Bedloe said.<\/p>\n
Our sons are less educated than our daughters.<\/p>\n
Our brothers die younger than our sisters. Our fathers are more likely to die at work than our mothers. Our male friends are more likely to die by suicide than our female friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe solution to these problems is not to stop working to improve the lives of women and girls, but to increase our efforts to tackle the issues facing men and boys. This means investing more time, money and resources into helping health services become more male-friendly and focused on the needs of men and boys.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt also means looking at the wider social factors that shape men\u2019s health, which include boys\u2019 education, our experiences of fatherhood, our working lives, our financial well being and our social connections.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the report, in Victoria:
\n\u2022 Men die 5.2 years younger (the average age of death in 2017 being 80.5 years for males and 85.7 years for females
\n\u2022 Nearly five times more men aged 35-44 die from more heart disease than women the same age
\n\u2022 1 in 3 men (31.9 per cent) die of cancer compared with 1 in 4 women (26 per cent)
\n\u2022 3 in 4 suicides are men (445 of the 621 suicides in 2017)
\n\u2022 92 per cent of workplace fatalities are men (33 out of 36 deaths in 2017), and
\n\u2022 3 in 4 road fatalities are male, with 4 men and boys a week dying in road accidents.<\/p>\n
The report also highlights some of the broader social issues that are known to affect men and boys\u2019 health such as education, employment, finances and family life.<\/p>\n
When compared with other states and territories, Victoria was ranked second for men\u2019s health behind only the ACT.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE state of men\u2019s health in Victoria is lagging women\u2019s health, according to a new report published during Men\u2019s Health Week. The Men\u2019s Health Report Card 2019, released by the Australian Men\u2019s Health Forum (AMHF), highlights several areas of concern including the fact that men in Victoria are dying 5.2 years younger than women on […]<\/p>\n