Table 1.
Barriers that men face in participating in healthy lifestyle group education sessions
| Barriers | Topics | Specific explanations |
|---|---|---|
| Internal barriers | Time | - Lack of time |
| Gender roles | - Belief that men have to be strong | |
| - Perception that activities are geared toward women | ||
| Age | - Perception of not fitting in; others in the group are older | |
| - Too old to learn | ||
| Perception of chronic condition | - Concern that if they found one chronic condition they might find another | |
| - Not inspiring to be with others who have your condition | ||
| - Sufficient to go to a clinic visit with the doctor | ||
| - Fatalistic view of disease | ||
| External barriers | Work | - Conflicting work schedules |
| - Type of work that does not allow for committing to regular attendance | ||
| Health center staffing, programs, and communication with staff | - Health center staffing is limited on weekends when men might be more likely to attend | |
| - Mostly female providers that may inhibit men from participating | ||
| - Some health centers do not offer educational sessions | ||
| - Under-resourced health centers turn people off from participating | ||
| - Communication gap with provider about who may attend |