1. Before delving into the indicators of men’s health status, it is essential to have an understanding of what health status is. In essence, health status refers to the presence or absence of disease and the presence or absence of high levels of function. In this regards, it is therefore right to say that indicators to men’s health status are sets of surveillance used to assess the health status of men to help in determining the health priorities and actions that need to take. The key indicators of men’s health status include mortality rate, morbidity rate, and disability.  Mortality rate, commonly known as the death rate, is the number of deaths in a particular population (in this case all men) in a given period or from a particular cause (Griffith & Thorpe 2016).  Mortality rate helps in assessing health conditions affecting men. The source of these conditions can be obtained from the death certificates where the underlying cause of death is recorded. According to the World Health Organization, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases are the leading cause of deaths for men. The second key indicator is morbidity, which is the condition of being diseased. Men’s morbidity is explained using several frequency measures. These frequency measures include hospital discharge rate, attack rate, prevalence case fatality (Griffith & Thorpe 2016). It is worth noting that the significance of these measures is dependent on the type of illness and the age range. In young men, the significant indicators are attack rate and case fatality. Disability is the other indicator of men’s health status. Disability includes measures such as disability-adjusted year and activities of daily living. The former accounts for the years lost due to premature mortality and year’s men live with a disability. The former focuses on essential functions such as feeding oneself among others. Other measures under a disability as an indicator of men’s health status include potential years of life lost and EoroQol (Griffith & Thorpe 2016).
2. Men’s health status is impacted by many factors ranging from psychosocial factors to physiological factors. Several psychosocial factors have been known to impact men’s health status. According to Walther et al., (2017), stress is the number one psychosocial factor that is associated with physical health in mean including heart disease. Work-related stress is the leading cause of several mental illnesses. Men spend many hours in their workplaces. Different studies have it that most men are subjected to working conditions that are not only demanding but constraining. Such conditions make men development several mental health conditions in the course of work or after retirement (Walther et al., 2017). Hopelessness is the other psychosocial factor that influences men’s health status. Other studies found that depression, behavioral response traits are some of the psychosocial factors that impact men’s health status. Also, suicidal behaviors, alcohol and drug abuse also play a significant role in men’s health status in the sense that men who do not drink alcohol are less likely to suffer from heart diseases (Williams 2015). Genetics is an example of a physiological factor that impacts men’s health status. Others include changes to the brain’s structure due to injuries, extended periods of inactivity and physical injuries.
3. Different studies have it that men’s health is worse than women’s. The first barrier to improving men’s health is financial constraints. It is evident that men in many parts of the world carry the burden of providing for their families.  These increased burdens put men at high risks of suffering from health conditions and diseases as a result of both physiological factors and psychosocial factors. In another dimension, low-income men lack the resources to buy coverage on their own.  Besides, it has been noted that compared to low-income women, low-income men are more like to be uninsured (Williams 2015). They are therefore required to go their way and buy coverage on their own.  Other barriers including perceived hostility and gender discrimination in health care are noted to play a significant role in the bid to improve men’s health. Increased abuse of alcohol and substance also affects the improvement of men’s care. In this sense, many studies have it that men compared to women engage excessively in drug abuse (Courtenay 2016). In this regards, it becomes a challenge to treat men who are addicts to drugs. Finally, the fact that men are less likely to seek medical assistance for managing their health is a big challenge.
4. Several factors can help to improve men’s health. The first factor encompasses providing health education to men. As it has been noted, men are less likely to seek medical assistance for managing their health (Williams 2015). In this case, sensitizing the need for medical checkups and screening will be of great importance in making men aware of medical assistance. Men should also be encouraged to engage in physical fitness and lifestyle changes. Lifestyle changes should involve reduced intake of alcohol. Rehabilitation with sex roles and lifestyle consideration would also play a significant role in improving men’s health. New concepts of community care also need to be established. These new concepts will be of importance in addressing the health disparities between the two genders. The new concepts should touch on funding insurance coverage for men the same way women are funded. In workplaces, conducive working conditions that cut across the two genders should be provided at all times. All these strategies will not only make men aware of their health but will also ensure that men can receive the same health benefits with their female counterparts.

References

Courtenay, W. H. (2016). Engendering health: A social constructionist examination of men’s health beliefs and behaviors. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 1(1), 4.

Williams, D. R. (2015). Preface: Minority men’s health. Ethnicity & disease, 25(3), 237.

Griffith, D. M., & Thorpe Jr, R. J. (2016). Men’s physical health and

Walther, A., Mahler, F., Debelak, R., & Ehlert, U. (2017). Psychobiological protective factors are modifying the association between age and sexual health in men: findings from the men’s health 40+ study. American journal of men’s health, 11(3), 737-747. Health Behaviors.