Men's Health Week
International Men’s Health Week 2023 starts on 12 June
Men’s Health Week is 29 years old this year! It began in the U.S. in 1994 following a Senate Joint Resolution to establish the Week by Senator Bob Dole. The Week was linked to Father’s Day in the U.S. (the Week always ends on that Day, the third Sunday in June) and it became an international event in 2002 when it was first marked in the UK. It has since been adopted in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand and beyond. The Week provides an opportunity for a wide range of organizations and individuals to draw attention to the poor state of men’s health, organize activities that engage men, and advocate changes to health policy and practice. In short, it puts men’s health on the map both nationally and globally.
The Men’s Health Forum in Ireland‘s theme is ‘The Picture of Health’ and is asking men to think about ‘what does that look like to you?’ and to set a simple goal – and go for it!
The Men’s Health Forum (Great Britain) is looking at the impact of the internet on men’s health. The iPhone was born in 2007. Those born in the same year will turn 16 this year. They’ve grown up with a high-performance computer in their pocket. What are the implications for men’s health? That’s the question the Forum is looking at during this year’s Men’s Health Week with a focus on ‘internet-fuelled’ addictions including pornography and gambling.
In Australia, the Centre for Male Health is focusing on Healthy Habits, encouraging men and boys to build healthy habits by identifying small changes they can make that benefit their health and wellbeing. To celebrate this theme and to support organisations, groups and individuals during Men’s Health Week, the Australian Men’s Health Forum has released a new Know Your Man Facts toolkit called ‘Exercise + Men’s Health.’ The toolkit includes a tailor-made presentation, complete with speaker notes and social media graphics that can be shared across a variety of communication channels. There is also an infographic summarising key points and suggestions to make Men’s Health Week activities interactive.
The Canadian Men’s Health Foundation has extended the Week into a Men’s Health Month and will be emphasising the benefits of physical activity, ‘one step at a time’. One initiative is to encourage men to ‘park far away wherever you go’ and to share the distant parking place on social media.
In the USA, the Men’s Health Network also has a Men’s Health Month, part of which is ‘Wear Blue Day’ on 16 June.
And in Germany, the Men’s Health Foundation is highlighting the important role of Men’s Sheds in tackling social isolation in older men.
For its part, GAMH will be launching its new report on men and global cancer policy, Gone Missing, at the webinar to be held on 14 June. This will mark the start of an advocacy campaign to ensure that men’s needs are properly reflected in national and international cancer policies.
For more information about what’s happening during Men’s Health Week around the world, visit Men’s Health Network’s international web page.
#menshealthweek
12 June 2023