NATIONAL MEN'S HEALTH WEEK 2009:

Resources

This section includes resources from the MHF for professionals and the public, info on MHF projects, NHS resources, resources from suicide prevention organisation CALM and links to other men's health websites. Scroll down to find what you're after.

MHF Resources - for professionals

The background on men's use of health services is available in the MHF's Gender And Access To Health Services report and its chapter in Man Made, the new report from the Coalition of Men And Boys.

For more hands-on advice, try Men's Health - How To Do It. Links to all three follow. All the stats on the subject are available elsewhere in this resource pack.

MHF news

The latest news from MHF in the run to and through the week is available on our news pages.

Challenges & Choices Improving health services to save men's lives

The 2009 National Men's Health Week policy briefing will be published in the week but you can preview it here.

The Gender and Access to Health Services Study: final report

Commissioned by the Department of Health in autumn 2007 from the MHF in partnership with the School for Policy Studies at the University of Bristol.

• Download executive summary 
• Read the news article MHF access report calls on DH to act on gender which includes the Forum's eight recommendations.
• Download full report

Man Made: Men, masculinities and equality in public policy

Report published April 2009 by The Coalition on Men and Boys (Current members: Action for Children, Bradford University's Research Unit on Men and Masculinities, the Fatherhood Institute, Men's Advice Line, Men's Health Forum, Relate, Respect - the national association for domestic violence perpetrator programmes, and the White Ribbon Campaign.)

• Download section on health

Men's Health: How To Do It

For practical advice on how to deliver male-friendly health services, Men's Health: How To Do It - edited by David Conrad and MHF chair Professor Alan White - is a concise, easy to read guide offering a no-nonsense, practical approach to the development and implementation of men's health programmes based on years of experience.

Two useful sample chapters are available here as PDFs: 

• How to be a men's health worker. 
• The everyday pitfalls of delivering men's health services.

Relevant MHF Projects

WorkFit

Workfit was a workplace lifestyle improvement programme developed by BT and the MHF. Open to all the company's 90,000 UK-based staff, Work Fit offered a 16-week programme, delivered mostly online, with a focus on nutrition and physical activity.

Over 16,000 staff (75% male) registered to participate. Almost 6,000 staff were successfully tracked and they lost an average of 2.3kgs (weight loss was the main indicator of compliance). A six-month follow-up survey showed that, for most participants, lifestyle improvements were sustained or improved. Read more.

Men and Salt campaign

A month long health communications campaign based at the Royal Mail centre in Greenford, developed around the Food Standard's Agency's key salt messages aimed primarily at the male staff. Read more.

Men and Pharmacy campaign

Inititiave to prove a point the MHF has been making for a while, namely, that pharmacy services have a potentially significant role to play in improving male health. Read more.

Men and Chlamydia

The MHF's successful campaign for the National Chlamydia Screenig Programme to adopt a strategy for attracting men. Read more.

MHF resources - for the public

Malehealth Mini-manuals - fast, effective, flexible health information for men.

Mini-manuals are available on:

• The Forum has a special mini-manual for the week to be written by MHF president Dr Ian Banks. Read more.
• We currently have our popular manual on Domestic Violence available FREE. Click here for more information.
• Plus many other topics. Full details of the Malehealth Mini-manuals here. 

malehealth.co.uk - there are hundreds of printable pages of men's health information on malehealth, the MHF's health information site, including both a DIY health check and an online MOT as well as other quizzes. There is also a Generic Men's Health Quiz here on the MHF site.

Here are the links for the main topics for this year's Week:

Smoking:

• www.malehealth.co.uk/smoking

Alcohol

• www.malehealth.co.uk/drinking

Exercise

• How fit are you?
• Malehealth online gym (major section on exercise)

Sexual health

• www.malehealth.co.uk/sexualhealth
• Sexually-transmitted infections 

Mental health

• 'You talkin' to me?' (section on male mental wellbeing)
• Emotional health
• Depression

Obesity (diet and physical activity)

• Healthy eating
• Weight problems
• Eating disorders
• Diabetes

Workplace health

• Can we work it out? (last year's Men's Health Week material)

Improving use of the range of primary care services

• How to use the NHS 

Men's Health Forum posters:

• Bedside poster (A4 PDF)
• Skateboard poster (A4 PDF)
• Patch poster (A4 PDF)
• Running track poster (A4 PDF)

We have A4 colour versions of the Bedside and Skateboard posters available through our office. If you would like copies, please order using the box at the bottom of the page 

Logos - feel free to use both the Standard NMHW logo in blue and the 4.7MB version on your own documents. (Both jpgs.)

Previous Men's Health Week Resource Packs are also still online providing resources on men and work (2008), long-term conditions (2007) and on men and mental health (2006). Both are very relevant to the workplace and include a lot of general resources too. (General resources are here for 2006 and here for 2007 - check them out because they are NOT duplicated here.) 

NHS Resources

Smoking

• National helpline - 0800 169 0 169

  Speak to a trained NHS adviser about concerns and expert advice

  on going smokefree. Open 7am to 11pm.

• Local NHS Stop Smoking Service

Meet for individual or group sessions to get face to face support and advice from trained NHS advisers.

• NHS Together Programme

A free programme developed by smokers and ex-smokers, for support at critical times by post, phone, email and text

Information on all three can be found at www.nhs.uk/smokefree

Weight management

• Weight management services for adults are not available on the NHS in most PCTs yet, although that will change. 
• The healthyweight calculator is good for the general public and health professionals, it also has advice on nutrition and physical activity.

Alcohol

• Alcohol interventions for individuals are available through health professionals.
• For the general public:

  http://www.units.nhs.uk

• For  professionals:

http://www.alcoholstakeholders.nhs.uk

http://www.alcohollearningcentre.org.uk

Free Postcards

For the Week, NHS Direct is also providing free postcards targeted at the under 25s. More information here.

NHS Direct has sent out this press release about their support for the week.

Resources from Calm 

The Campaign Against Living Miserably (C.A.L.M) is aimed at men aged between 15 and 35. It offers a website, with information about a range of issues including drugs, relationships and debt. Why? Because suicide accounts for the deaths of more young men, aged 15-35, than any other single cause.

• Website
• CALM Campaigns: 500/100 Appeal
• Facebook
• MySpace

Upcoming events in association with CALM

• White Lies Give-Away (on the Calm Zone and on Facebook)
• Lazy Gramophone Festival
• Disheveled* Elegance

CALM is always looking for volunteers (fundraisers, web designers, music meisters, writers, editors, work experience students) If you fit the bill and have some time to spare email info@thecalmzone.net.

Men's Health Websites

• malehealth.co.uk - fast,free independent health info for men of all ages from the MHF
• BBC
• BUPA
• NHS Choices has pages targeted at men of different ages