Males’ perspectives on health in Iran: A grounded theory study

Background: Males’ health plays a basic role in the community's health, especially in family’s health. Health is a multifaceted issue that affects people in all aspects. Health is also one of the 4 metaparadigm concepts in nursing. This study was conducted to explore males’ perspectives on health. Methods: In this qualitative study conducted based on a grounded theory approach, 22 males were selected through a purposive sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and continued until data saturation. Data analysis was done using Strauss and Corbin's three-stage coding process. Results: Based on the perspectives of the participants, 8 categories emerged, which are as follow: psychological health; physical health; family health; spiritual health; welfare and social health; health and relationships; sexual health; and occupational-economic health. Psychological health was emerged as the core variable. Conclusion: As a multifaceted phenomenon, health is an individual’s general condition in all these aspects, particularly psychological aspect. Males’ health should be taken into account for the role they play in managing the family. Males as the family heads require evidence-based decision making and planning.