What comes first: health inequalities or technological ones?

Can male interest in technology help overcome male lack of interest in health?

That was one of the questions considered at the MHF's men's health and technology expert symposium held in London in April.

At a morning session chaired by Julia Manning of 2020health.org, several dozen health care campaigners and professionals heard Dr Charles Gutteridge, the national clinical director for informatics, discuss how health inequalities might be addressed through technology. With 8.2 million people still not online and half the population without a smart phone, the challenge, of course, is to first address inequalities in access to technology.

MHF CEO Peter Baker addressed the general question - 'what do we know about men's health and technology?' - before the event moved on to hear from three different approaches to improving outcomes in three different technological environments.

Jim Pollard, the editor of the Forum's websites spoke about the lessons he'd learned from editing the health information site malehealth.co.uk. Dr Seema Jani and Gemma Hobson of Pfizer spoke about the Pfizer-sponsored online GP service Manmot.co.uk. Julia Horsley, health, work and well-being coordinator at the Department of Health, discussed West Midland NHS smartphone app.

After lunch, at a session chaired by Peter Baker, the chair of the MHF, Professor Alan White of Leeds Met University discussed how health technology and inequalities were linked. This was followed by group sessions on the roles of the various players local and national including  government, employers, media and the voluntary sector. A presentation from Dr Alan Davies of GE Healthcare ended the seminar.

The event, sponsored by Pfizer and held at the offices of PR company Daniel J Edelman, was the follow-up event from Men's Health Week 2011 which highlighted men's health and technology.