We spend more than half of our waking hours at work and, for many of us, that involves sitting down for most or all of the time.  Did you know that moving more during your working day can help you feel more alert and be more productive, and that physical activity can also reduce feelings of fatigue by up to 40 per cent?  During September, the Irish Heart Foundation is encouraging everyone to move more and sit less.  Find out more at: www.escapeyourchair.ie

You are invited to apply for a place at a free event where you will hear the latest research on the impact of loneliness on health and wellbeing from International and National experts.  TILDA and the Department of Sociology in Trinity College Dublin (TCD), in collaboration with the Institute of Public Health in Ireland, have organised this event to examine the relationship between social isolation, loneliness and health, and the policy implications of this.  It will be held on Monday 21st October 2019, from 1.00pm - 5.00pm, in TCD.  Register for a place at: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/social-isolation-and-loneliness-health-consequences-and-policy-implication-tickets-72674163379

Firstly, let me start by introducing myself ...  My name is Brien Frazer, and I have recently started in post with the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust (SEHSCT) as a Community Health Development Practitioner focusing on emotional health and wellbeing.  I have worked in various health and wellbeing roles since June 2000, and have a particular passion for men’s health and wellbeing.  I have been a member of the All-Island Men’s Health Week Planning Group for the past three years, and have thoroughly enjoyed coordinating the many events organised each year within the SEHSCT area to celebrate Men’s Health Week and highlight topics specific to men’s health.  In my new role, I am hoping to develop an email database and contact network of men’s groups in the SEHSCT area for information sharing.  Furthermore, I am hoping to complete a Trust-wide scoping exercise to assess what support and training local groups may require.  If you would like to add your men’s group / organisation to the database, please forward the details to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Institute of Public Health in Ireland, in partnership with the All-Ireland Physical Activity and Ageing Group, invite you to their upcoming event titled ‘Physical Activity and Older Adults: What Works? - The Role of Health Professionals’.  This event will take place on Tuesday 22nd October 2019, in Chartered Accountants House, 47/49 Pearse Street, Dublin.  The keynote speaker will be Shane O'Mara, Professor of Experimental Brain Research in Trinity College Dublin, and author of the book 'In Praise of Walking'.  Places are limited.  To register, email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

#123GP and PPR invite you to a Mental Health Congress on Thursday 10th October 2019, from 11.00am - 4.00pm, in the Spectrum Centre, Shankill Road, Belfast, BT13 3AB.  There is an escalating mental health crisis in Northern Ireland.  Yet, at 5.2% of the health budget, funding for mental health in NI lags far behind that of other UK jurisdictions, and is below the global average.  This event will bring together people directly affected by this crisis, activists, concerned practitioners, service providers, academics and others to discuss these issues with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health.  For more information, visit: www.pprproject.org/mental-health-congress-10-october-2019

'Is This OK?’ is a partnership between Childline and Runaway Helpline, and is funded by Children in Need to offer young people an easy way to access specialist support and advice.  There are times in life when a situation or event feels difficult or uncomfortable and you might find yourself asking ‘Is This OK?’  Through the website, young people can access a team of experts who will talk through the issue and signpost them to appropriate sources of support.  For more information, visit: https://www.isthisok.org.uk

You are invited to apply for a place on a 'Connecting with Young Men' workshop.  This free event will take place on 23rd September 2019, from 9.30am to 4.30pm, in Dun Laoghaire.  The aim of this workshop is to assist a broad range of practitioners to effectively connect with young men on mental health and wellbeing issues.  It focuses on the engagement process i.e. WHY and HOW to build relationships with young men.  It seeks to: demonstrate why we need to work with young men as a specific group; help participants to reflect on their own value base, experience, attitudes towards, and expectations of young men; explore the world of young men, the issues that they face and opportunities that exist to engage with them; consider the practicalities of ‘what works’; increase the confidence of participants in relation to working with young men.  To apply for a place on this workshop, or for further information, email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

In March 2018, a landmark report titled ‘Middle-Aged Men and Suicide in Ireland’ (www.mhfi.org/MAMRMreport.pdf) was launched.  This was commissioned / coordinated by the Men’s Health Forum in Ireland, funded by the National Office for Suicide Prevention, and researched by the National Centre for Men’s Health in the Institute of Technology in Carlow.  The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the factors underpinning the high suicide rate among middle-aged men (40-59 years old) in the Republic of Ireland, with a view to providing more effective and gender specific programmes, services, and resources that can support their mental health and wellbeing.

The report highlighted that: over the past ten years, the suicide rate among middle-aged men in the Republic of Ireland has been the highest of all age cohorts; suicide and suicidal behaviour is more prevalent among certain ‘at risk’ groups’; a range of mid-life transitions are associated with challenges for these men; reaching a crisis point is the most common trigger to seeking help for many men; there is a diverse range of barriers and enablers which influence the dynamics of engaging with middle-aged men in relation to their mental health.

To meet the need from practitioners to develop meaningful relationships with this target group, the Engage National Men’s Health Training Programme has now developed a new workshop called ‘Men in the Middle’.  Applications are being sought from experienced facilitators to participate in a Training for Trainers programme to upskill them to deliver this workshop across the Republic of Ireland.  More details can be found at: www.mhfi.org/Engage7Overview.pdf