Why we need the Men's Health Forum

This isn't about blowing our own trumpet but about the challenges we face.

We have distributed over a million of our men's health mini-manuals so it was good to receive the latest bit of feedback through our website.

Thank you for the wonderful MAN MANUAL booklet I picked up at the Chelsea & Westminster hospital. I have enjoyed very much the whole booklet and the simple way the book explains everything and how logical it all is. I really do believe all males should read this and only wish I had got a copy sometime ago before I was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer, really helpful and outstanding read, thank you all.

That was fantastic to receive but we still have a lot to do to get men to get advice as early as possible and for services to be more welcoming.

The MHF is working on ways to improve men's use of the new bowel cancer screening programme. This summer we've had two reminders of why we need this and why despite our successes getting these programmes launched there is still a lot to do on the ground.

This week ITV West Country Tonight covered the story of a man from Gloucestershire who had the symptoms of bowel cancer for six months before doing getting them checked. You can still watch their interview with Derrick Daley.

Earlier in the summer the Eastern Daily Press covered a near identical story in Norfolk. Ernie Childs was sent a bowel cancer test but ignored it for months.

How would you get men to get checked sooner and how can services be more male friendly?

Is breast best for showing the importance of cancer awareness?

Much of the news today about breast cancer is focusing on how successful that screening programme has been but some is looking at the role of lifestyles and awareness - two issues whose importance is not limited to breast cancer. The news is based on a study in the BMJ, and is much more solid than the news yesterday that UK breast cancer rates are four times higher than those in Eastern Africa. That figure is dissected in Dr Chris Hiley's blog.

On BBC News this morning Professor Dame Valerie Beral mentioned the importance of awareness and early presentation before screening in tackling breast cancer. This is not just linked to women and cancer however.

The Forum has long highlighted the shocking difference in cancer rates between men and women. When working with Cancer Research UK, the National Cancer Intelligence Network and others, the most likely reason for the difference is thought to be men's tendency to recognise symptoms later and go to their doctor later.

Encouraging men to take more responsibility is a good thing but if we do not also improve awareness of possible cancer symptoms and make primary care more male friendly we will not succeed in reducing men's high rates of cancer.

Have your say on the government's plans for the NHS

At the Men's Health Forum, we have just started work on planning our response to the government's plans for the NHS. The deadline for submission is in early October, so we are juggling things around so that no-one works during their holidays!

Colin mentioned some of the changes that the government is proposing in his post below. Since writing that, the government have published further consultation documents on GP commissioning, the new role of local authorities in public health and the outcomes that NHS professionals will be working towards.

As we plan our response, it would be useful to know your opinions on some of the proposed changes. If you have a spare 5 minutes, we would be grateful if you tell us what you think about the main changes Colin mentions in his post below.

Thanks,

Áine

What men do online

Regular readers of the MHF's website will know that we were shortlisted as charity of the year in the Medical Journalists' Association's awards.

MHF with other charities and Dr Pixie McKenna, from the

TV programme Embarassing Bodies, at the MJA Awards

Sadly we did not win; the honour went to Sense About Science. I was able to have a good chat with them about our plans for National Men's Health Week 2011. This will focus on using technology to improve men's health and will include issues like understanding what's reliable information online.

We are still thrashing this out, to be honest, and had a meeting about it this week. The Forum's award winning health info website, malehealth, is incredibly popular and the government's plans for health state they want to make more use of technology. However, there are unanswered questions about what the government really means by this and also about how you can really encourage better use of health on the internet without increasing the numbers of people panicked by an internet diagnosis?

None of that however in the exciting new online health service for men launching next week. It's backed by the MHF along with others including Diabetes UK, Relate and the National Obesity Forum. Find out more on the Forum's own site on Monday!

White paper a blank page?

So 24 hours after their publication what do we know about the government's plans for NHS? Surprisingly little that we didn't know before.

There was little more detail about GPs holding the purse strings in Equity and excellence: liberating the NHS than in The Coalition: our programme for government. There was however, a fair bit more about public health.

In many ways this is understandable, in scrapping primary care trusts you need to design something else, in this case a Public Health Service and more work for local authorities. Then there's a bit missing - a plan for public health is not due until the autumn, although Andrew Lansley has set out his vision.

The Forum has been a little concerned by plans to give GPs more public health responsibilities. As we've found, men's use of traditional primary care is poor and services need to reach those who tend to avoid seeking help until it is too late.

We are optimistic about the duties of the National Commissioning Board. But will it really deliver on tackling inequalities in access and outcomes? Where GPs need to act on these issues will they really have the scale to do so, even when they are formed into consortia?

On men's health there is a lot they can do but will they have the time and money to first look at what works or will they spend the budget the treasury has entrusted to them failing to re-invent the wheel before disappearing back to the safety of their practices?

Charity websites: one screen, many audiences

Kaye Wiggins makes some good points about charity websites in her Third Sector blog. Apparently 60% of visits to charity websites result in users failing to find what they're looking for.

We're trying to deal with that on the MHF site with our 'my role' buttons on the top right of the home page. Clearly we should be developing the idea.

Kaye says: 'The problem for many charities is that they are unsure whether their websites are for their donors, their beneficiaries or both.' Or, should something be bigged up the home page just to keep one visitor - albeit a funder - happy?

Kaye could have added a related problem which is that charities are unsure whether their sites should reflect the world as they want it to be or the world as it is. When it comes to Men's Health Week for example we like to tell visitors about our great policies and research. But, apparently, they're mainly looking for free posters.

Are we trying to tell everyone how valuable and important the MHF is - and it is - or just help others do their jobs? Is it method of service delivery in itself or simply a shop window? And, the question that all website editors ask: is the resource devoted to a charity's website proportionate to its true importance?

What do you think of the MHF website?

Coalition government's vision for Public Health

The government’s plans for Public Health are taking shape. We have known since the publication of the Conservative’s Green Paper on Health ( 'A Healthier Nation') in January of this year, that if elected, the Conservatives planned to replace the Department of Health with the Department of Public Health.

Further details of the coalition government's Public Health plans are now beginning to emerge. The Health Secretary spoke last week at the Faculty of Public Health’s annual conference, about his vision for Public Health.

Andrew Lansley spoke about putting in place a new ‘framework which empowers people to make the changes that will really make a difference to the nation’s lives.’

Amongst other measures, he spoke about making more use of the voluntary sector locally. This obviously has the potential to impact positively on the sector, but how this might work is not yet clear.

Mr. Lansley has also stated that he wants to establish a new responsibility deal between Government and business ‘built on shared social responsibility and not state regulation’. This measure must be approached with caution. We know that state regulation can play an important part in improving Public Health. The smoking ban is a good example of this.

Click here to read our full news story

New report draws on MHF's work on health at work

2020health has just published their report on health and work, Health, disease and unemployment. It refers to the work the Forum did around National Men's Health Week 2008 when we focused on men and work.

In Improving male health by taking action in the workplace we called for business and the NHS to work together to deliver male friendly health services in the workplace. We also returned to a theme in our 2006 work on men's mental well-being - the effects both positive and negative - that work can have. So I am pleased to see that their top recommendation is that:

It would therefore seem sensible for the first aim of any policy change to make it in the interests of the individual, the employer, and society at large to align the incentives and close the loop between health, illness, and unemployment.

I went to one of the workshops that 2020health held whilst working on their report. It was a good event with a range of professions and organisations represented so it is good to see issues raised at that event reflected in the paper - and not only those I raised!

You can download Health, disease and unemployment or read more on 2020health's blog.

What day is it? Where am I?

I was convinced I'd woken up to find the last three months were a nightmare, involving shopping, and today is 1st April.

Part of my work as external affairs officer for the Forum is media monitoring. Which lead me to read Sex and shopping – how retail therapy really is bad for men's health and fertility in the Daily Telegraph and the only conclusion was that I had just woken up on April fool's day.

Researchers have found that a chemical compound found on some till receipts contains enough of the hazardous substance Bisphenol A (BPA) to suppress male hormones in the body.

Can till receipts really make men impotent? Surely men can't be even more intuitive than thought and know that shopping is bad for them? It must be nonsense, but no:

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) supports its removal and has stated concerns regarding the impact of the chemical on babies and young children.

I look forward to commentary on Behind the Headlines on the NHS Choices website. Until then, it's lunchtime, and I need a few bits at the shops.

For another take on the issue, read Jim Pollard's post on the malehealth editor's blog.

Budget 2010

The speculation is over and we now know where the government axe will fall on public spending.

The Chancellor George Osborne termed his first budget ‘harsh but fair’ saying that it was necessary, to eliminate the structural deficit by the end of this parliament’s term.

For those of us working in the voluntary sector, the question on everyone’s lips is understandably ‘how will this affect us?’

There are a number of measures announced today that will have a big impact on the voluntary sector.
We have examined the potential effect of these changes on the voluntary sector.

You can read our analysis and access our printable briefing paper here. 

National Men's Health Week 2010

Monday 14th June sees the start of National Men's Health Week. This year, it focuses on physical activity. We want 1 million men to become more active by 2012. Is this a tall order? We don't think so.

This year, Men's Health Week coincides with the first full week of the World Cup. Research from the University of Loughborough tells us that one in ten fans will drink 20 cans and 20 pints of beer, while one in seven fans will eat ten pizzas during the tournament.

So it's worth encouraging the football fans you know and work with to take an occasional break for some exercise and healthy food, while still enjoying all the action.

By the time our launch event comes around at West Ham football club on Monday evening, we'll know what sort of start England have had. Will supporters still be celebrating after a resounding victory against the USA? We'll jut have to wait and see.

Find out more here about National Men's Health Week 2010 and register to receive promotional materials.

MHF voluntary sector work

My name is Áine Duggan and I co-ordinate the strategic partnership programme of work for the MHF. This programme of work is all about engaging voluntary sector organisations in the agenda around men’s health and gender and health inequalities.

We have had a busy few months getting the strategic partnership programme up and running and there are lots of exciting plans in the pipeline.

Over the past few months we have been working to carry out a mapping exercise of men’s health activities in the third sector in the London borough of Greenwich. This is to help us to understand what is happening in the third sector and how to engage organisations in men’s health.

Over the next year we will be working to build a network of third sector organisations that have an interest in the area of men’s health.

You can find out more information about our voluntary sector work here and if you would like to get involved in the project, feel free to contact me on aine.duggan[at symbol]menshealthforum[dot]org[dot]uk.

Áine