The life expectancy of the average man born in the UK is still less than 75 years, and he can expect to be seriously or chronically ill for 15 of those, an advocacy group for male health has warned.
To launch National Men’s Health Week, which runs from 15 to 21 June, the Men’s Health Forum (MHF) has issued a ‘Challenges and Choices’ Man Manual, published by Haynes in the recognisable style of its well-known motoring and maintenance books.
The Man Manual gives men essential information about their everyday health challenges and aims to help them make their own choices about their lifestyle by providing details of the services that can help them.
The Manual accompanies MHF Challenge Cards — a series of credit card-sized health challenges for men based on the key issues for Men’s Health Week, including alcohol intake, exercise and sexual health, and tips on how to manage stress.
IOSH is also marking the week by urging men to take greater care of themselves while at work. The Institution points out that men are more than twice as likely to be hurt in the workplace than women, and substantially more likely to suffer a fatal accident.
Men of working age also visit their doctor less often than women, and they tend to present later in the course of an illness. Commented Dr Ian Banks, president of Men’s Health Forum: “Too many men suffer unnecessarily poor health, with a large proportion of men not using GP and other primary-care services effectively and neglecting their health through smoking, a poor diet and alcohol misuse.”
Added IOSH president, Nattasha Freeman: “The statistics are quite stark and show that men really do need to think more carefully about their health and safety at work. There are some obvious reasons for the massive difference in fatalities and injuries; men tend to dominate the workforce in the most dangerous sectors, such as construction, agriculture and manufacturing, and their jobs also tend to involve them in more risky tasks.
“It’s important that male workers, who are clearly at significant risk in the workplace, listen to and act on health and safety advice they are given. Fooling around or taking a short cut might seem clever at the time, but they will eventually catch you out, quite possibly with tragic results.”
“The ‘Challenges and Choices’ Manual has been designed to highlight some of the small changes men can make that will have a positive impact on their health and lifestyle. We hope it will appeal to men and encourage them to take better care of their own health and seek advice from a health professional, when necessary.”
The 32-page, A5 manual will be distributed through Men’s Health Forum’s partner organisations, including Royal Mail, the Department of Health, numerous Primary Care Trusts, charities and third-sector organisations. It can also be downloaded by clicking here.
To find out more about MHF and National Men’s Health Week, visit http://www.malehealth.co.uk/ For a previous SHP article on men’s health and how NHS providers and employers can work together to improve it, click here.
In this episode of the Safety & Health Podcast, ‘Burnout, stress and being human’, Heather Beach is joined by Stacy Thomson to discuss burnout, perfectionism and how to deal with burnout as an individual, as management and as an organisation.
We provide an insight on how to tackle burnout and why mental health is such a taboo subject, particularly in the workplace.
