A Review of Academic Literature on Men’s Health and Men’s Sheds

Men experience more incidence of morbidity and live fewer years than women (Mahalik et al., 2007; White and Holmes, 2006; Department of Health and Human Services, 1996; Fletcher, 1992). Suggested contributions to this include biological, psychological and sociological factors including: that ‘masculinity’ could be a determinant of health; that men are unwilling to burden health services; there is a lack of appropriate men-friendly health service provision (Connell, 1995; Evans et al., 2011; Gough, 2006; Marmot et al, 2010). In terms of pragmatic contributions that influence men’s health the literature points to a set of foundations in support of the concept of community based organisations where men can be facilitated to address health and wellbeing issues whilst affirming their masculinity (Bourdieu, 1986). This provides a rationale for reviewing Men’s Sheds: community organisations that provide space for men, often providing the opportunity to engage in activities (Golding et al., 2007). These organisations have been described as a health promotion vehicle with the potential to influence wellbeing outcomes for men. Across the world there are over 1,000 Men’s Sheds with more than 100,000 members (Cavanagh et al, 2014; Wilson and Cordier, 2013). A review of empirical research conducted to evaluate the merits of Men’s Sheds for the improvement of men’s health and wellbeing has been conducted with the initial question aiming to discover: What evidence is there that Men’s Sheds improve participant wellbeing? The review of the literature identifies eight themes arranged within two categories. There is a paucity of empirical research with eight articles included for this review. The reviewed literature indicates that Men’s Sheds are an entity comprising of mechanisms that contribute towards positive wellbeing outcomes for men. The reviewed studies encourage further research to be undertaken to understand men’s experiences of participating in community-based, non-Australian Men’s Sheds and within Men’s Sheds with a primary health and wellbeing focus which offer non-utilitarian activities (Ormsby et al., 2010; Cordier and Wilson, 2014).