Men's Health Week 2020

 

 

Poster for Men’s Health Week 2020

To promote Men's Health Week (MHW) 2020, a bespoke poster was designed.  The 'face' of MHW this year was a father and son - Chris and Ethan Smylie - from Belfast.

Anyone who has ever learned to ride a bike will appreciate that it's all about getting the balance right.  However, to get the confidence to do this, you need the support and assistance of people around you that you can trust and rely on.  Chris and Ethan really capture this relationship in their photograph!

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic - and the limited opportunities to place posters in public places this year - the posters were only available as online electronic files (in a range of sizes and formats suitable for a variety of uses).

Copies of these online electronic resources can be downloaded from: www.mhfi.org/mhw/mhw-image-pack.html#Poster2020

 

Even people who didn't have time to do anything else for MHW 2020 were encouraged to print off and put up a poster (in their window or elsewhere) to let everyone know when it was taking place.  Although this cost little to do, it made a big difference to promoting the week!

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Postcard for Men's Health Week 2020

Every year since 2014, there has been a Men's Health Week (MHW) postcard to publicise the week.  Traditionally, these cards can be displayed as small flyers in public spaces and are often sent by organisations to the men that they have contact with.  This has proved to be a very successful means of letting local men know about the week.

Some groups have also used them as 'pledge cards' i.e. men can write on the card how they are going to 'be part of the solution' and improve their health and, later, keep this beside their desk, on their work bench, attached to their dashboard etc. to remind them of what they want and hope to do.

Due to the prevailing 'Stay at Home' message during MHW 2020, these postcards were not printed this year, but were still available for electronic download at: www.mhfi.org/mhw/mhw-image-pack.htm#Postcard2020

The front of the postcard had a similar design to the MHW poster, and the back had a pre-written message which said:

Hi there,

These are really challenging times.

Coronavirus / COVID-19 has caused uncertainty, disruption and a sense of fear for many of us.  For others, it has had even more devastating consequences.

However, the past few months have also shown us the best side of males - when the vast majority have answered the call and did their bit to ‘flatten the curve’, offer practical help to others, home-school their children, strengthen community spirit and protect the vulnerable people around them.  We should celebrate this contribution.

From 15th - 21st June 2020, Ireland will be joining with other countries during International Men’s Health Week to heighten awareness of the health issues facing men and boys, and encourage practical action to overcome these difficulties.  Rarely has this been more needed! 

Throughout the week, everyone is asked to 'BE PART OF THE SOLUTION' and to do something realistic and practical - no matter how small - to help to RESTORE SOME BALANCE and stability in everyone's lives.

So, are you up for the challenge? ...  If so, find out more at: www.mhfi.org/mhw/mhw-2020.html

 

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Men’s Health Week 2020 Graphics Pack

One of the key aims for Men's Health Week (MHW) each year is to let as many people as possible know when it is happening.  To do this, there needs to be a common set of promotional tools.  These were available for free downloading at: www.mhfi.org/mhw/mhw-image-pack.html

This page offers generic MHW images, new resources created specifically for MHW 2020, as well as the ones used in previous years.  There is a ...

• MHW logo
• Facebook Cover Photo
• Twitter Header Image
• Poster
• Badge
• Banner

These came in a range of sizes and formats, and groups and individuals were invited to use any or all of these images to promote MHW in any way they could.

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'Challenges and Choices' Man Manual

 

Research clearly shows that there are many challenges to be faced when seeking to improve men’s health.  However, it also highlights that men’s health can be improved in many significant ways - if the right choices are made.  Men, themselves, have a key role to play in this process.

One of the most successful and sought after elements of previous Men’s Health Weeks has been the ‘Challenges and Choices’ Man Manual which is distributed free-of-charge to males throughout the whole island of Ireland.  In the past, all of the hard copies of this booklet were distributed within a few weeks of their release.

The ‘Challenges and Choices’ booklet is a male-friendly, 32 page publication, which highlights ten key men’s health issues i.e. alcohol, food, physical activity, smoking, stress, blood pressure, sexually transmitted diseases, skin cancers, back care and help-seeking behaviour.  It was written by leading men’s health expert Dr Ian Banks (internationally acclaimed men’s health author, President of the European Men’s Health Forum, the British Medical Association’s Spokesperson on Men’s Health, and a resident of Northern Ireland).

This Manual: issues a realistic and practical challenge to improve the reader’s health in each area of concern; provides a reason for why it is important to consider taking action in relation to each issue; offers three possible choices for what actions can be taken to combat each condition; signposts the reader to local sources of help and support.

During MHW 2020, 15,000 updated copies of this publication were made available to men throughout the island of Ireland.  These were funded by the Health Service Executive in the Republic of Ireland and the Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland.  To see an electronic version of what the Man Manual looks like, click here.

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How to keep up-to-date with the latest MHW 2020 news

     

Everyone was invited to keep up-to-date with the latest news on Men’s Health Week (MHW) 2020 by checking out the MHW Facebook page (www.facebook.com/MensHealthWeek) and Twitter feed (www.twitter.com/MensHealthIRL).  Viewers were encouraged to click on the ‘LIKE’ / 'FOLLOW' buttons, and to send these links to all their friends.

People who are into social media, were also asked to Tweet about MHW using the hashtags #MensHealthWeek and #RestoringTheBalance

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What can I do to mark Men’s Health Week 2020?

Everyone can do something to support and celebrate Men’s Health Week (MHW) each year.

The focus for MHW 2020 (i.e. ‘Restoring the Balance’) lent itself to a wide range of ways to mark this occasion.  However, there was no need to stick rigidly to this particular theme.  Anything which promoted the week and encouraged men and boys to lead healthier lifestyles, to be more aware of preventable health problems, and to seek early detection and treatment for health difficulties was very welcome!

Some people might have the time, energy, resources and skill to plan something elaborate.  However, even if this was not possible, there were still many simple, free and easy ways to get involved / show support - such as social media posting, directing men to the Man Manual, using the MHW graphics ...

For practical ideas, everyone was invited to check out 'The Toolbox for Action'.

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Raise the profile of Men's Health Week 2020 - Get Tweeting!

Men’s health issues and needs are numerous and complicated.  So much so, that we could probably assign a different one to highlight on each day of the year and still have an outstanding pool of ones to explore!  However, when preparing for Men’s Health Week (MHW) 2020, the all-island Planning Group felt that it would be useful to draw attention to a specific theme on each day during the week, as well as on the days leading up to it.  These were ...

• Friday 12th June:  It’s Almost Time - Men’s Health Week: Restoring the Balance
• Saturday 13th June:  Staying Connected During and After Loss - maintains our sense of balance
• Sunday 14th June:  Food - it’s easy to strike a balance
• Monday 15th June:  Mental Fitness - it’s always a balancing act
• Tuesday 16th June:  Heart Health - have you got the balance right?
• Wednesday 17th June:  Cancer Prevention - is about creating balance
• Thursday 18th June:  Quit Smoking - restore the body’s balance
• Friday 19th June:  Rethink what you Drink - get the balance right
• Saturday 20th June:  Physical Activity - restores your overall balance
• Sunday 21st June:  Fathers - help their children to become balanced adults

Social media (especially Facebook and Twitter) has become a powerful tool for organisations to spread their message.  During Men’s Health Week 2020, everyone was encouraged to ‘Post’ and ‘Tweet’ about it and, when possible, to use the hashtags: #MensHealthWeek and #RestoringTheBalance

For those people who would like to support MHW 2020 using their own social media channels - but who didn't have the time, energy or knowledge to develop their own messages - there was a document which offered a range of Posts and Tweets that they could simply cut-and-paste from.  There were lots of message options presented for each day of MHW, and these related to the theme for that day.  Everyone was invited to use them all, or simply pick and choose the ones that suited themselves / their organisation / their location.  Click here to download these suggestions, and get a copy of the dedicated social media image for each day by clicking here (this is a .zip file).

Even loading a few things to websites / Facebook pages / Twitter feeds / Instagram / other social media platforms made a huge difference to publicising the week.  This was, therefore, an easy and free way to show support for MHW.

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Tell others about your Men’s Health Week 2020 Activities
The Men's Health Forum in Ireland (MHFI) always seeks to promote the details of activities / happenings that are being held throughout Ireland during Men’s Health Week (MHW).  It is hoped that this will help everyone to find out what is happening during the week, where it will be taking place, and how - if possible - to join in.  It also gives some recognition and publicity to all those groups across the island that are doing something for and with men.

COVID-19 meant that many traditional MHW face-to-face events (e.g. health checks, conferences, launches, games, seminars, competitions, workshops, lunches, training courses, performances, displays, health fairs ...) could not take place this year.  However, many groups across Ireland were creative and innovative about how they could engage with / support men.

Whatever it was that groups were doing, if they would like to have the details included on our website, they were asked to get in touch.

There were three ways to let us know about what was happening during 2020:

1. Submit the details using the online form or
2. Download and save a copy of the MS Word Registration Form, type in the details, and email it back to us, or
3. Print off a copy of the Portable Document Format (PDF) Registration Form, handwrite the details, and post it back to us.

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