Identifying male college students' perceived health needs, barriers to seeking help, and recommendations to help men adopt healthier lifestyles

Seven focus groups at a university campus were formed to identify college m en's health concerns, barriers to seeking help, and recommendations to help college men adopt healthier lifestyles. Content analysis was used to ident ify and organize primary patterns in the focus-group data. Results of the s tudy revealed that the college men were aware that they had important healt h needs but took little action to address them. The participants identified both physical and emotional health concerns. Alcohol and substance abuse w ere rated as the most important issues for men. The greatest barrier to see king services was the men's socialization to be independent and conceal vul nerability. The most frequently mentioned suggestions for helping men adopt healthier lifestyles were offering health classes, providing health inform ation call-in service, and developing a men's center. Implications of the r esults are discussed.