Perception of adult men on their preventive practices and health support networks

Abstract

Objectives: to know the preventive practices adopted by adult men in daily life and to identify health support networks.Methods: a descriptive qualitative study, made during the months of November and December 2012, at two emergency units,along with 32 men aged between 20 and 59 years. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and subjected tocontent analysis with thematic modality. Results: men highlighted different preventive practices such as sanitizing hands,eating properly, having screening tests, avoiding psychoactive substance abuse, using personal protective equipment atwork and condoms during sex. Most of the participants had nuclear family and its members were their primary supportnetwork regarding the health-disease process. Conclusion: it is for health team members to try to leverage the adoption ofpreventive practices by adult men from the support networks they consider significant.