Men, bodily change and urethritis: a qualitative study.
OBJECTIVE
To describe how men narrate the process of bodily change as a trigger to presentation for a suspected sexually transmissible infection.


METHODS
The study was qualitative with 18 men presenting at a specialist sexual health centre in an urban setting.


RESULTS
All men gave narratives that included accounts of bodily changes prior to presentation. The nature, severity and persistence of those changes were unrelated to subsequent diagnosis. Men responded particularly to visual changes as cues to action.


CONCLUSIONS
The men exhibited limited skills in understanding the significance and the specifics of bodily change as they may relate to a sexually transmissible infection. While these men identified a broad range of changes as potentially indicative of a sexually transmissible infection, their ability to act on visceral rather than visual cues appears constrained in that they were less able to respond to the feel of their body than the way that it looked.
Pitts
M K
MK
Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, 215 Franklin Street, Melbourne, Vic. 3000, Australia. M.Pitts@latrobe.edu.au
Smith
A M A
AM
Mischewski
A
A
Fairley
C
C
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010358:Patient Participation; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013492:Suppuration / Q000209:etiology; D014526:Urethritis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014555:Urination Disorders / Q000209:etiology