A Clearinghouse for Men’s Issues
Men’s Health Network
https://www.menshealthnetwork.org
Background: The Men’s Health Network was founded in 1991 by a group of counselors, educators and others interested in men’s issues, and has since formed alliances with groups devoted to conditions such as prostate cancer, male depression and AIDS. Its Web site advertises the network’s activities and acts as a resource guide for consumers.
What Works: The site provides a truly exhaustive catalog of Internet links covering just about anything that touches men’s health, from prostate cancer to parenting to help for abused husbands, wives and children. It’s a useful first stop for anyone interested in getting a read on how illness and social programs affect men. The site is especially strong in covering issues relevant to fathers, including transcripts of congressional testimony on child support, domestic violence and even welfare.
What Doesn’t: The Network can’t possibly assess all issues affecting men, but it would be nice to see a critical overview of some of the big stuff--prostate cancer, for example. Doctors still disagree about how to treat and even diagnose prostate tumors, but you don’t get a good sense of those controversies anywhere on the site. In addition, the network does a haphazard job of covering men’s health news, such as new treatments for cancer and men’s depression. Last week, for example, only one of the stories in the site’s “Hot News” page was from 2001. Nothing even warm in there.
