Men's Sheds: A conceptual exploration of the causal pathways for health and well‐being

Although men have a lower life expectancy than women, and are more susceptible to illness, they have been found to be less likely to engage in health‐seeking behaviour. Men's Sheds, as a gendered intervention, has been identified as an effective way to engage men in meaningful activity and gain social support from others. However, links between sheds and health and well‐being are not well‐documented, and evidence is lacking of the potential causal pathways to health generation. This study aims to develop a plausible empirically based causal theory of how Men's Sheds influence the health and well‐being of their participants and to set out future research directions to test this theory. Drawing on a scoping review of academic, peer‐reviewed journal articles published between 1990 and 2018, potential causal linkages between shed activity and health and well‐being outcomes are synthesised into a logic model framework. Sixteen relevant peer‐reviewed journal were identified from the academic literature. The data from the articles are predominantly self‐reported, and characterised by small sample sizes and/ or low response rates. Further, information is lacking on the demographics of Men's Shed participants and the contexts in which they exist. Most notably, while there is some evidence on the potential mental health and social well‐being impacts of shed activities, physical health is less documented. The study shows that there is a lack of reliable and systematic evidence of the potential causal pathways between Men's Shed activities and health and well‐being outcomes. In order to address research gaps, further research is required to test and develop the proposed theory and logic model.