Why Louisiana men are dying younger than elsewhere, and what some doctors are doing about it.

Louisiana men live an average of around 69 years, between five and six years less than the national average, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. State data show fewer than two-thirds saw a doctor in the past year. That gap, driven by delayed care, economic barriers and long-standing cultural norms, costs lives and strains families.

Many men don't prioritize their own health, said Glenis Scott, prevention program manager at CrescentCare in New Orleans, often because showing up to work or responsibilities to family or friends win out over going to the doctor.

"Those consequences they see as greater than their own health," Scott said.

He’s seen men who won’t seek care until a crisis makes it unavoidable. His outreach teams go where men already feel at ease to talk