What is the role of masculinity in white and South Asian men's decisions to seek medical help for cardiac chest pain?

摘要

Objectives: To explore how masculinity in￡uences white, Indian and Pakistani men’s interpretation of cardiacnchest pain and the decision to seek or delay seeking medical help.nMethod: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 36 men of white ethnicity (UK ancestry) and 20nmen of South Asian ethnicity (Indian or Pakistani ancestry) who had a con￠rmed diagnosis of acutemyocardialninfarction or angina pectoris.The study setting was two coronary care units and eight cardiology wardsnsituated in two teaching hospitals in the North of England. All interviews were tape-recorded, transcribednverbatimand analysed using a constant comparative method.nResults: Displaying a high threshold for pain and discomfort was a masculine attribute valued by whitenmen in the study but not by the Indian and Pakistani men.White men’s fears of being seen to be weak contributednto delays in seeking medical treatment and led to reluctance to disclose symptoms to others. Indiannand Pakistani men emphasizedwisdom, education and responsibility for the family and their own health asnmore valuedmasculine attributes, and this contributed to a greater willingness to seek medical help.nConclusion: Masculinity had a diring role inwhite and South Asianmen’s decisions to seek or delay seekingnmedical help for chest pain. The study supports the development of coronary heart disease policy andnpractice that acknowledges men’s gender as an important determinant of their health behaviour, but illustratesnthat there is no probable single appropriate approach to tackling the delay in how men seek treatmentnfor chest pain.