{jcomments off}To keep everyone up-to-date with the latest news on Men’s Health Week (MHW) 2011, the island-wide Planning Group for MHW has created a new Facebook page.  You can access this at:  www.facebook.com/MensHealthWeek   However, as all social networkers know, a page such as this is no use unless it has a lot of Fans - that’s where your help is needed!  Visit the page, click on the ‘LIKE’ button, and send the link to all your friends.

{jcomments off}The Men's Health Forum in Ireland (MHFI) has created a section on this website to promote the details of any activities or events that will be held throughout Ireland during Men’s Health Week 2011.  This will help everyone to find out what is happening during the week, where it will take place, and how to join in.  It will also give some recognition and publicity to all those groups across Ireland that are doing something for and with men.  Your activity might be health checks, or a conference, or a launch, or a game, or a seminar, or a competition, or a workshop, or a lunch, or a course, or a drama, or a display, or a health fair ...  Whatever it is, if you would like to have the details included on this website, please complete our registration form and return it by email to MHFI as soon as possible.

{jcomments off}‘Weigh to Men’s Health’ is a workshop hosted by the All-island Obesity Action Forum supported by Safefood and the Ulster Cancer Foundation.  It will take place on Wednesday 8th June 2011, in the Stormont Hotel, Belfast, from 10.00am - 2.00pm.  The workshop will highlight that excess weight is a men’s health issue that needs to be recognised by men.  Presentations will discuss best practice in how to target men, and will provide examples of relevant projects on the island of Ireland and further afield.  The event will showcase the Ulster Cancer Foundation’s ‘ManAlive’ project - which is bringing life saving messages and health checks to men in the Southern Trust area of Northern Ireland.  The event will also facilitate networking and the sharing of information.  You can register online at: www.safefood.eu/en/Professional/Events/Weigh-to-Mens-Health

{jcomments off}Applications are invited for a two day training course on working with young fathers.  This training will take place on the 17th and 18th May 2011 in the Regional Education Centre, St. Brigid’s Complex, Ardee, Co. Louth.  It is being organised by the Teen Parents Support Programme (TPSP) and the Men’s Health Unit within the Health Service Executive Dublin / North East.  There is no charge for this training, and it is open to both men and women from across the island of Ireland.  All participants will receive a copy of the “Father Focus” Training Pack.  The closing date for applications is Friday 29th April 2011.  Telephone: 041 9875273 for more details.

{jcomments off}‘Action Man’ is one of a number of health promotion campaigns carried out by Action Cancer.  It takes place in June, and tries to raise awareness and understanding of male specific cancers, such as testicular and prostate cancer.  The campaign urges men to 'Get a Grip', be more proactive about their health, and to avail of Action Cancer’s ‘Men's MOT’ health check service.  The purpose of this survey is to measure awareness, knowledge and attitudes towards male cancers and general health among men in Northern Ireland.  Men aged 18 years old and over are asked to take part.  To measure men’s knowledge and attitudes, there is a short questionnaire.  To take part, you simply need to visit: www.surveymonkey.com/s/actionman2011 (before Sunday 8th May 2011) and complete the confidential survey.  It will take approximately five minutes, and will provide important information to help shape future Action Man health promotion campaigns.  If you would like to discuss this further, or have any queries about the survey, please contact Louise McGovern on Tel: 02890 803361.

{jcomments off}Men’s Health Week (MHW) will look different this year.  For the first time, there will be a common logo, an image pack, and a poster which can be used by everyone in Ireland who wishes to raise awareness of the week.

MHW will run from Monday 13th until Sunday 19th June 2011 - so, there’s still plenty of time for you to plan for it!  In Ireland, the focus is on: "Promoting and Supporting the Health and Well-Being of Men and Boys during Challenging Times".  The world of males, and the roles that they play in it, have certainly changed dramatically in a very short period of time.  All of these changes bring new challenges (both positive and negative), and many have a direct impact upon the health and well-being of men and boys.  Therefore, the key message for this week will be ‘let’s talk about it’.

Of course, there are many things that you could consider doing to mark this week.  However, even if you don’t have the resources, time or energy to organise a full-blown campaign or activity, here’s some very easy ways to get involved ...  Put a MHW poster (or two) up in your workplace / office / meeting space.  Insert the new MHW logo onto the bottom of your outgoing emails for the month of June.  Display the MHW banner on your website.  Visit the MHW Facebook page / become a ‘friend’ / say you like the site / send the link to all your contacts.  Check out the MHW Twitter page to hear all the latest news.  Make the MHW logo your desktop ‘wallpaper’ during June.  Send an email to everyone in your contacts list to tell them about Men’s Health Week and ask them to forward the message to all their contacts ...  Details on the logo, poster, image pack and Facebook / Twitter pages will soon be available at: www.mhfi.org/mens-health-week-2011.html

{jcomments off}In the build-up to Bowel Cancer Awareness Month in April, the Irish Cancer Society and Podge & Rodge are challenging the embarrassment factors associated with bowel cancer symptoms with the launch of their funny and insightful movie, “My Brother’s Bowels”.  This short film aims to: encourage people to talk openly about the symptoms of bowel cancer; ‘embarrass people out of their embarrassment’; highlight the importance of the early detection of bowel cancer; encourage people to call the National Cancer Helpline (Freefone 1800 200 700 - Republic of Ireland) and to visit their GP if they are concerned.  My Brother’s Bowels can be viewed via the Irish Cancer Society website at:  www.cancer.ie/bottomline

{jcomments off}“Women and Men in Ireland 2010” is a recently published report from the Central Statistics Office in the Republic of Ireland which collates key data on the lives and circumstances of Irish men and women.  It represents one of a series of key thematic social indicator reports that are structured around the nine equality grounds named in equality legislation in the Republic.  A Portable Document Format version of the report is available for online downloading at: www.cso.ie/releasespublications/women_and_men_in_ireland_2010.htm