Ideas of masculinities in Latin America and their influences on immigrant men's attitudes toward health: prostate cancer prevention, an analysis of the literature

Professionals and policy makers in a host society should pay attention to Latin American countries ideas of masculinities because a significant proportion of men from these countries become immigrants Social and health professionals need culture-specific information on ideas of masculinities to ensure that their educational approaches are appropriate for immigrant populations The literature analysis in this article is a first step towards answering this need In analyzing Latin American literature we aimed to identify ideas of masculinities that might influence immigrant mens attitudes towards prostate cancer and to uncover possible differences between the literature reviewed and the English-language literature available to professionals Over 52 online reports articles and books (from 1991-2007) in Spanish and Portuguese were examined The thematic analysis method was used to guide reading, retrieval, and conceptual classification into 60 topics Articles and books in English (from 2002-2008) were also examined In the literature from Latin America discourse about plural forms of masculinity co-exists with discourse about traditional masculinity We identified an interactions / rights / affectivity triad that implies collective responsibility for promoting mens health In the English-language literature, a persistent traditional view of masculinity may mask other aspects of these mens lives limiting the scope of recommendations for professional practice Mens health policies and preventive campaigns, should take into account the ideas of masculinities particular to the nature and territories of social interaction of Latin American immigrant men Questions about incorporation / resistance to immigrant men's values in a host society remained unanswered in this analysis