A summary of the Australian Men's Health Forum's 2016 position paper "Male health in Australia: A call for action", prepared by Associate Professor Gary Misan PhD, for and on behalf of AMHF.

2. Acknowledgement
The Australian Men’s Health Forum
acknowledges the traditional custodians
of this land and pay respect to the elders
past and present.

3. :
Male
Health in
Australia
Prepared by
Associate Professor
Gary Misan PhD
January 2016

4. Despite three decades of adverse
statistics, the lack of any male
health policy by state or federal
government, continues to fail
Australian males
65 now – M: 84 / F: 87 years
Fed Govt - AIHW

5. The National
Male Health
Policy
(NMHP)
released in
2010 lacks
endorsemen
t, an action
plan or

6. No Australian State or Territory
Government has a specific,
active male
health policy
Conversely,
Offices for Women exist in
every State & Territory
... & at Federal level

8. Males have:
 a shorter life expectancy;
 higher rates of death from most
non-gender specific causes
across all age groups;&
 higher lifetime
risk of many cancers & chronic
conditions

9. Standardised mortality rates
indicate 23,000 excess male
deaths per
year in Australia, compared
with women

10. ...leading causes of male deaths in
Australia are ischaemic heart
disease, cancers, respiratory
system disease, prostate and lymph
system disease, cerebrovascular
disease, suicide and endocrine
disorders, which together account
for about 60% of male deaths

11. Males account for 93% of all
work-related fatalities
Males experience 70% of work
related injuries
Males account for 75% of
completed suicides nationally

12. Key risk factors include...
 socioeconomic disadvantage
 social isolation
 smoking
 high blood pressure
 overweight /obesity
 low levels of physical activity,
 high cholesterol,
 alcohol / substance abuse,
 poor diet
 risky health behaviour and
 occupational exposure to hazards.

13. For adult males the leading causes
of years lost to disability are:
 Anxiety or depression
 Type 2 diabetes
 Adult onset hearing loss
 Asthma and dementia

14. Mental illness over the life course affects
just under half of the
Australian male population; about 1 in 6
males reported experiencing a
mental illness in the previous 12 months
Almost two-thirds of males have big gaps
in their health knowledge

15. The
National
Male
Health
Policy
(NMHP)
released
in 2010
lacks
endorseme

16. :