How to get your guy to the doctor

Talking to your guy
Here's what the experts think might work to get your guy to the doctor.
• Warm your partner to the idea of thinking about his health before you suggest he make the leap to visiting a doctor. “Ask, 'What's going on in your life? How is work going? Are you feeling overwhelmed?'" says Dr. David Long, a professor of sociology with The King's University College in Edmonton who specializes in research on fatherhood and men's health.

• Play it straight. "Tell your spouse, 'I'm your wife, I love you, and I want to make sure you take care of your health,'" says Dr. Alan Katz, an associate professor in the departments of family medicine and community health sciences at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.

• Appeal to your partner's manhood. "Guys equate health with physical and sexual performance," says John Oliffe, assistant professor in the school of nursing at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. "Encourage him to understand that regularly visiting a doctor helps him maintain his body in top form."

• Talk to your partner about health-related articles you've come across. "We see a big jump in people coming in to see us after there's public awareness on any issue," says Dr. Azadeh Moaveni, a family physician at the Family Health Centre at Toronto Western Hospital.

• Encourage him to ask the doctor when his last checkup was if he's there anyway with one of the kids (and he shares the same doctor).

• Resist the urge to book that appointment for him yourself. Instead, "put up a sticky note to remind him to do it," says Moaveni.

• Get your guy to understand that the sooner he goes to the doctor, the sooner an issue can be addressed, says Oliffe. "The treatments are easier in early stages of an illness," he says, citing high cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes as examples. All too often, men adhere to the flawed philosophy of "What I don't know can't hurt me."

• Impress on your partner that he's not alone, that many men associate regular physical exams with an invasive procedure. Also let him know that rectal exams are no longer routinely recommended for all males, says Dr. Vinita Dubey, at Toronto Public Health.

• Reassure your man that female doctors – who outnumber their male counterparts – are quite comfortable doing physicals on men. But if your guy won't relax in the hands of a female doctor, help him find a male doctor, says Moaveni. Ask your doctor or pharmacist about male doctors who are taking new patients, or call the College of Physicians and Surgeons in your province.

• Let your partner know that any information between him and his doctor is confidential – even if you share the same physician.

Read more:
Checklist: What to ask your doctor
Find a family doctor in Canada
The doctors and health care pros your kids should see

Page 4 of 4