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For many decades, while women's health issues have received a lot of attention, the response to men's health issue has been quite the contrary. This is rather an ironic fact given that on average men have a higher risk of preventable death and greater incidence of medical conditions (Roller & Gowan, 2005). In addition, female life expectancy exceeded males by approximately 6 to 7 years (Fletcher, 1993). One major difference between men and women's health behaviors is the way in which they deal with their health. Women are more upfront and willing to communicate with doctors regarding their health concerns, whereas men are more reluctant to discuss such private matters. Whether such attitude is caused by nurture, societal, or genetic factors, one thing that has become increasingly evident is that there are a wide variety of factors which affect men's health, and these risk factors are correlated with one another (Roller & Gowan, 2005). Macdonald and Crawford (2002) indicated that factors which affect men's health also include their health-damaging behaviors and possibly psychosocial issues. Thus, in the 1990s, men's health gradually became a prominent issue, which was the consequence of increasing concern and health reports that men has poorer health outcomes compared to women (Malcher, 2005). In Australia, men's health arose as a public issue in Melbourne in the year of 1995, when the first national men's health conference was held (Macdonald & Crawford, 2002). Later in 1996, the Minister for Human Services and Health Dr Carmen Lawrence took action regarding the matter on men's health, and launched the Draft National Men's Health Policy (Butler, 1996).

While many would immediately relate men's health with diseases like prostate cancer and erectile dysfunction, it should be made clear that the implication of men's health lies beyond such assumptions. As well as prostate disease and ED, issues such as mental health and depression, health problems that are specific to the male gender (Roller & Gowan, 2005), as well as a higher rate of mortality associated with diseases such as cardiovascular, cancer, circulatory, respiratory, and others, should also be focused on (Fletcher, 1993). Hetzel and McMichael (1987) specified that the male fetus is more likely to experience adverse effects caused by environmental factors such as air pollution, radiation, and exposure of its mother to toxic chemicals (cited by Fletcher, 1993). Whilst Roller and Gowan (2005) categorized

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