Pôle d’expertise et de recherche en santé et bien-être des hommes

Research Topics

In its action plan, the Pole aims to develop a real synergy between researchers on the one hand, and between researchers and practice environments on the other. It is a place where expertise in human health and well-being converges in Quebec. The Pole's research and knowledge transfer activities are grouped into three areas:

Topic n°1

Health, Services and Specific Groups of Men

The Pole adopts the World Health Organization's definition of human health: Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. As a corollary, "An issue is men's health when it emerges from physiological, psychological, social, cultural or environmental factors that have a specific impact on boys or men, or when it requires male-specific actions to achieve improvements in health or well-being at an individual or population level" (Eugloreh Project, 2009 in Wilkins, 2009: 7). The topic covers men's health and well-being in terms of men’s physical and mental health as well as sexual health. It concerns global aspects of men's health and well-being as well as specific groups of men.

Topic n°2

Paternity, Family, Couple and Separation

This grouping touches on various topics that can be gathered into two sub-groups: 1) fatherhood, including the themes of paternal commitment, perinatal bereavement, fertility, fathers' mental health, the more specific reality of immigrant fathers and that of young fathers; and 2) the couple and the break-up. It is well known that separation is a high-risk period in terms of depression, suicide, domestic abuse and intrafamilial homicide.

Topic n°3

Abuse (Domestic et Sexual)

There are two sub-groups of topics: 1) domestic abuse and domestic homicide and 2) sexual abuse. The Pôle uses the definition established by the World Health Organization: "Domestic abuse is defined as any behaviour that results in physical, sexual or psychological harm during an intimate relationship, during separation or after separation" (WHO, 2010). Men are addressed in some projects as perpetrators of violence and in others as victims. Violence is considered during domestic life as well as at the time of separation and in the years that follow, in a heterosexual couple or in a male couple, whether the relationship is formal or not. In some respects, the theme of intrafamilial homicides partly overlaps with the previous group, since it includes domestic homicides but differs from them when we talk about filicide, patricide or familicide. Finally, sexual abuse is currently addressed mainly from the perspective of men who were sexually abused as children.