Eithne Donnellan,
Health Correspondent
The Government has failed to live up to a promise it made more than two years ago to develop a special plan aimed at improving the state of men's health in the Republic by the end of 2003.
The commitment was made in the National Health Strategy published in 2001. It promised a working group would be established in early 2002 to develop the policy and would have a policy for men's health and health promotion completed by mid-2003. However, this has not happened.
The lack of progress on the issue was highlighted yesterday when a report on men's health in Ireland was published.
As reported last week in The Irish Times, the report reveals that men in Ireland continue to die, on average, nearly six years younger than women and have higher death rates at all ages and for all leading causes of death.
It concludes that men's health here is "in critical need of attention".
The report from the Men's Health Forum in Ireland, a voluntary cross-Border group which aims to promote and enhance men's health, says that while life expectancy at birth has increased substantially for Irishmen and women over the past four decades, women North and South can now expect to live to 79 years but men can expect to live, on average, only to 74 years in the North and 73 years in the South.
As a result, there are three women over 85 years for every man over the same age.
The report adds that life expectancy for men at birth in the Republic is the third-lowest in the EU and lowest of all EU countries at age 65.
Factors which may contribute to the gap in life expectancy between men and women, it says, are biological/genetic differences between men and women, cultural and behavioural differences and gendered use of and access to the health services.
The study points out that men are more likely to engage in risky behaviours. They are more likely to drink and drive, and to die by suicide and road traffic accidents.
They also smoke more and drink about three times as much alcohol as women.
While these facts may be long known, the report says, there has been little evidence to date of the differences being reflected in the planning and delivery of healthcare.
It also refers to the fact that there has been little momentum to date on Department of Health plans to target men's health through health promotion initiatives.The Department, however, said that the first meeting of the group to devise the men's health policy, as set out in the strategy, will take place later this month.
Men and women, the report states, have similar risks of developing cancer, but men are more likely to die from it.
It suggests men are more reluctant to seek medical help early, which is essential to ensure best outcomes.
"Since sickness may be seen as an expression of weakness, many men may decide not to seek help, and instead to present a stoical, brave and unflinching front to the outside world," it says.
Apart from men being reluctant to seek help, however, the report also points to the fact that even though prostate cancer killed 900 Irish men in 2002, there is still no screening programme.
In addition, the Republic has significantly fewer urologists per head of population than many other EU countries.