A University Teaching Hospital Urologist says women are critical in promoting health-seeking behaviours among men.

Dr Chewe Takusanikwa said women must take an interest in their spouses’ health to encourage health-seeking behaviours.

He said most men respect their wives, and hence, women can easily encourage their men to visit health facilities.

“Men respect their wives. If women are at the forefront of encouraging their husbands to seek medical treatment, you will see an increase in the number of male patients in our hospitals,” he said.

Dr Chewe also urged women to conduct simple physical inspections of their husbands, which may help detect certain health symptoms early.

“Feel free to check your husbands. These simple inspections can help to detect certain symptoms of serious ailments early. We don’t want to lose our men to treatable illnesses,” Dr Chewe added.

Meanwhile, Dr Chewe has also urged health workers to create a welcoming environment to encourage more men to seek medical treatment.

Dr Chewe was speaking during a Men’s Clinic onsite mentorship tour of Chongwe, Rufunsa and Luangwa districts organized by the Lusaka Provincial Health Office (LPHO) in collaboration with the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ).

CIDRZ, with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently supported the Ministry of Health to train health workers from eight facilities in managing and treating health conditions related to men.