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Within a health context, men in Western societies are a hard-to-reach population who experience higher rates of chronic disease compared with women. Innovative technology-based interventions that specifically target men are needed; however, little is known about how these should be developed for this group. This study aimed to examine opinions and perceptions regarding the use of Internet and mobile phones to improve physical activity and nutrition behaviors for middle-aged men. The authors conducted 6 focus groups (n = 30) in Queensland, Australia. Their analyses identified 6 themes: (a) Internet experience, (b) website characteristics, (c) Web 2.0 applications, (d) website features, (e) self-monitoring, and (f) mobile phones as delivery method. The outcomes indicate that men support the use of the Internet to improve and self-monitor physical activity and dietary behaviors on the condition that the website-delivered interventions are quick and easy to use, because commitment levels to engage in online tasks are low. Participants also indicated that they were reluctant to use normal mobile phones to change health behaviors, although smartphones were perceived to be more acceptable. This pilot study suggests that there are viable avenues to engage middle-aged men in Internet- or in mobile-delivered health interventions. This study also suggests that to be successful, these interventions need to be tailor-made especially for men, with an emphasis on usability and convenience. A wider quantitative study would bring further support to these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study investigated the association between social capital and health related quality of life in a sample of Australian adults. Information was collected from a sample of adults in Queensland, Australia relating to health status, health related quality of life and related social determinants of health by computer-assisted-telephone-interview survey. Significant associations were observed between social capital and physical health when adjusting for selected demographic measures. No significant association was observed between social capital and mental health. The research produced equivocal results regarding the associations between social capital and the selected measures of health-related quality of life. Evidence is presented in support of the association between social capital and physical health status, whereas no associations were observed between mental health status and social capital. The role and relationship between health and social capital remains elusive. More work is required to clearly support social capital's role in physical and mental health and well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]