Its National Men’s Health Week – Are you using your health services?
Today sees the start of National Men’s Health Week (15-21 June). As we lead up to Father’s day National Men’s Health Week (NMHW) 2009 will focus on the issue of improving men’s services to reduce the risks to their health and wellbeing. The week has two main objectives:
- To improve men’s awareness of the range of health and related services and how to use them effectively.
- To improve the understanding of health policymakers and practitioners about how to develop and deliver services that men will use.
According to men’s health statistics provided by the Men’s Health Forum, two in five men (39%) drink too much, more than one in four (28%) smoke and one in three younger men (35%) use illegal drugs. Along with their poor diet, driving dangerously and having unsafe sex men are continuously putting their health at risk.
But one of the key aims of the NMHW this year is to turn around one of the biggest risks to men’s health, their reluctance to seek help from professional services. The Men’s Health Forum surveyed 830 men and found that 66% go to the internet as their first source for health information and only 15% turn to the doctor. Many men are putting their health and well being at considerable risk through assessing unreliable information.
Dr Ian Banks, president of the MHF comments, “We know that many men are embarrassed about talking about their health and uncomfortable using care and advice from traditional services. But the internet is littered with websites that take advantage of this fact and capitalise on men’s need for information and treatments, promising miracle cures and delivering products or information that could seriously risk the man’s health. When they go online, men should stick to reliable health sites such as www.malehealth.co.uk and www.nhs.uk.”
But the problem of men’s reluctance to visit their GP or pharmacist isn’t just blamed on men. Often services and health improvement programmes like weight loss clinics are not delivered in ways that take account of men’s particular needs. To address the second objective of NMHW, the week kicks off today (15th) with an event experts from across the healthcare system will debate the reasons why men’s health is suffering in England and Wales and establish what needs to be done to address the problem.
Many events are being held around the country this week from information fairs held in shopping centers, Mini health MOT’s and advice drop in sessions, along with entertainment such as football tournaments, badminton league, dinghy taster sessions and fly fishing. To look for events in your area and for further information about Men’s Health Forum and National Men’s Health Week, visit www.menshealthforum.org.uk.
Because of National Men’s Health Week, Strenua’s World will be running a special series of articles all week covering issues on Men’s Health so check back tomorrow.
Popularity: unranked [?]
related post
- Do you want to improve your memory? Run a marathon!!
- Should endurance athletes take creatine supplements?
- Fats, Proteins or Carbohydrates - What's the best combination for a weight-loss diet?
- Which strategies enhance recovery from post exercise muscle damage?
- Can creatine supplements enhance muscle recovery?
