Agencies
Services
Men's Health Initial Assessment 2024-2025
Across the United States and globally, men’s health is increasingly recognized and gaining attention as a priority topic and crucial factor when considering public health strategy, policy planning, research and literature limitations, and the promotion of health and gender equity. While progress is being made in various health outcome areas, such as a generally positive trend in life expectancy, advancements in medicine, emphasis on addressing social determinants of health, and other contributors to improving public health are not equally impactful to all demographic groups. Disparities that exist between women’s and men’s health remain clear, as well as the reduced and poor outcomes present within certain subgroups of men. Fortunately, organizations and governments worldwide, including the World Health Organization and a growing number of countries, have become increasingly vocal proponents of addressing this issue with a proportionate and more sufficient response.
In Illinois, the status of men’s health is comparable and aligns with what have become chronic issues demonstrated across the United States and the world. Outcomes and rates in areas of life expectancy, chronic disease morbidity and mortality, substance abuse/overdose, suicide, homelessness, imprisonment, and academic achievement all show disparities compared to women, and many of these disparities are growing. Of particular concern are the outcome disparities in men of certain demographic groups, especially African American/Black men and those affected by low incomes or in specific locations. Increasing public awareness of these issues and building on emerging advocacy, programming, research, and policy efforts are essential factors in scaling public health efforts to match the scope of the problem.
Across most literature and health equity efforts, men are not labeled a sub-group or demographic that warrants gender-focused attention and policy. Using a gender-specific approach may allow public health efforts to transform approaches limited in effectiveness, improve outcomes through targeted identification and outreach measures, and generally “meet men where they are at” when considering their reduced participation in health care and lifestyle/behavior choice risk reduction.
With the addition of the IDPH Men’s Health Section, Illinois joins a short, but growing list of states that have created commissions or state-level policy recommendation programs. This corresponds with emerging trends globally, as seven countries within the World Health Organization have also recently developed national men’s health policies, and the United States representatives have introduced legislation to do the same. This report serves as a basis for understanding the status of men’s health in Illinois and includes details on current health outcomes, lifestyle behaviors, and risk factors, and proposed priority areas to address through services and public policy.
