Date of Defense

4-24-2014

Date of Graduation

4-2014

Department

Nursing

First Advisor

Maureen Mickus

Second Advisor

Barb Betts

Third Advisor

John Stinson

Abstract

The aim of this study is to conduct a descriptive, cross-cultural study on Men's Shed organizations and the characteristics of the Men's Shed participants. The Men's Shed program was developed in Australia in 2006 with the explicit goal of establishing a place for men to socially interact and to help maintain their health and well -being. The program has achieved tremendous success and has continued to grow to a variety of other countries. To date, there has been limited research conducted on the Men's Shed program, particularly from a cross-cultural perspective. Studies related to Men's Sheds have not addressed the structmal or organizational features of these programs. Knowledge about this organization for men may be helpful for the development of a similar program within the US. The participants for this study were Men's Shed Directors from Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Survey Monkey, an online tool for collecting surveys was used to collect data from participants. Out of 39 Men's Shed Directors that were contacted, 26 completed the survey. The results showed many structural characteristics of the Men's Shed Program and benefits to the participants. In conclusion, we were able to determine the following about the Men's Shed characteristics: the programs are volunteer-based; there are many variations in the way they are operated; typically fees are charged but the amount varies widely; the main activities, programming, and benefits are relatively similar; and two-thirds of the men participating in the Men's Shed are still married. A significant benefit that was found in many of the surveys was the following: " ... opportunity for men to meet together to do and talk about things of mutual interest. .. allows men to re-engage in social and meaningful work based activities which combats isolation, depression and social exclusion."

Access Setting

Honors Thesis-Restricted

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