Men are being encouraged to seek health help at the first signs of symptoms instead of leaving it until issues are severe, says RedArc.
RedArc believe men tend to wait until signs and symptoms of both mental and physical health are acute before they seek support.
The nursing support company’s experience is that men tend not to seek early support due to their ‘breadwinner mentality’, feeling they need to cope – which means they have worse health outcomes.
Christine Husbands, Commercial Director for RedArc, said: “Added-value services will support an individual whether they reach out for help or are referred at any stage of an illness but we can’t stress enough how early intervention really is key.
“By identifying and providing effective early support, an individual’s longer-term health and wellbeing outcomes are significantly improved.
“It’s important for men to understand that added-value support within benefits and insurances can offer early intervention, but communication also needs to include messages that will help more men feel comfortable in coming forward.
“This includes highlighting the confidentiality, longevity and personalisation of the service available.”
RedArc said early intervention can reduce the likelihood of many conditions becoming more serious, but men’s hesitancy to tackle their health concerns promptly means they are not benefitting in the same way that women are.
Their experience highlights that most men usually have an awareness of a problem but prefer not to tackle it until they get to a point when they simply can no longer avoid it.
They believe men are less likely to admit that they are struggling and are reluctant to take time off from work – and often when they do get to the point of needing help, it is not uncommon for a man to ask his partner to initially speak on his behalf.
This could be driven by embarrassment or because men are less practised in conversations about health matters.
RedArc is hoping more men become aware of and seek the early intervention support that is included within many health and protection benefits and insurances, as this can lead to better health outcomes.
