Men's Health Week

By WLR's Site Manager, Laurence Beeken

National Men’s Health Week (NHMW) takes place annually in June as the week leading up to Father’s Day

What is the Purpose of Men’ Health Week?

The purpose of Men’s Health Week is to raise awareness of preventable health issues and encourage men and boys to seek professional advice for health related problems.

Organised by the the Men’s Health Forum (MHF), previous years have looked at male health problems such as weight, cancer and sexual health, primarily on the subject of men and mental wellbeing.  Research has shown that at any given time, one in six adults has a mental health problem and around a quarter of all GP consultations are for issues relating to mental health.

When is National Men’s Health Week?

Men's Health Week 2011 runs from 13 to 19th June, and will focus on how new technologies can be used to improve men's health.

Future Dates for Men’s Health Week

2011	June 13-19
2012	June 11-17
2013	June 10-15
2014	June 9-15
2015	June 15-21
2016	June 13-19

National Men’s Health Week 2010

In 2010, the focus of the week was on men and sport and had three main objectives:

• To encourage more men to become more physically active (e.g. walking, using the stairs, gardening, dancing, recreational cycling, DIY)
• To improve male participation in sport
• To develop the potential of sports settings (e.g. stadia, leisure centres) for delivering health services and campaigns to men.
  

National Men’s Health Week 2009

The week in 2009 had 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.
  

National Men’s Health Week 2008

The theme for 2008 was men and work and had three broad areas of focus:

• 'Traditional' health and safety issues (e.g. work-related accidents and ill-health, both physical and mental).
• The workplace's potential as a setting for improving the health of men.
• The government's health, work and well-being strategy
  

National Men’s Health Week 2007

In 2007, the Men's Health Forum focused on men and the management of long-term medical conditions.

As men are unlikely to visit a doctor or engage with other health services, health promotion campaigns often fail to take account of the need for 'gender-sensitivity' in reaching male audiences. 

The Men's Health Forum sought to address this through NMHW 2007 with a view to developing effective ways to reach men with long-term medical conditions and to increase men's capacity for self-care. 

National Men’s Health Week 2006

During 2006, the MHF used the week to improve awareness of such problems as men are typically less likely to seek medical or psychological professional help than women.

Over the week, all aspects of mental health were addressed, from suicide (75% of all suicides in the UK are by men), to more common issues such as dealing with stress and anxiety.

What Else has National Men’s Health Week covered?

In previous years the Forum has used NMHW to help create permanently available resources, such as guides, reports and manuals. The Forum was actively involved in the development of the Haynes’ HGV Man manual, a guide to weight management specifically directed at men, published in the style of a car maintenance manual. Also published by Haynes’ is the Brain Manual designed in the style of a computer manual, geared towards helping to raise men’s awareness of mental health and improve mental wellbeing.