If you, or someone you know, have been affected by cancer - be it through a cancer diagnosis, a friend or family member being diagnosed with cancer, or looking after someone with cancer - Macmillan Cancer Support and Belfast Health and Social Care Trust want to hear from you.  They are hosting a series of events in local communities throughout Belfast in late November which will give people affected by cancer the chance to have their say on everything from improving services to providing better support.  For more information, contact Stephanie McCann at Tel: 02895 043890 | Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The 5th Annual Contact Suicide Prevention Conference is taking place on Wednesday 11th November 2015, from 10.00am - 4.30pm, in the Titanic Conference Centre Belfast.  Admission is free, and the day is open to anyone with an interest in suicide prevention.  The morning keynote session will be presented by Joe Rafferty, CEO Mersey Care NHS Trust, and will focus on their ‘NO MORE’ five year strategic policy initiative which seeks to envisage a zero suicide death rate for their region (see: www.no-more.co.uk).  Also presenting will be Dr Christabel Owens, Exeter Medical Centre, on her work on the systematic review of psychological autopsy studies following family experience of suicide bereavement.  Christabel will speak about the importance of following intuition when assessing suicide risk for a family member, and asking the difficult questions when suicidal ideation and suicide planning may converge.  The afternoon session will be devoted to a public debate on the future of the Regional Lifeline Service.  To register for a place, Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

During the month of November each year, 'Movember' is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on men’s faces in Ireland and around the world.  The aim of this month is to raise funds for, and awareness of, men’s health.  Visit http://ie.movember.com or http://uk.movember.com to find out more about Movember on the island of Ireland.

This training course - organised by ACET - will be beneficial to anyone wishing to develop and extend their knowledge and skills in the area of parent-teen communication as part of their role in the wider community within the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust area.  The programme, which will begin in November 2015, has been accredited by the Open College Network with 6 Credits at Level 3, and is free of charge.  For full details see: www.mhfi.org/ACETtraining2015.pdf

One of the big questions of the age is: ‘Are young men not interested in looking after their own health, or are we simply not offering them the right things in the right way? ...’ 

If you work in the Republic of Ireland, are curious about the answer to this question, and would like practical ideas to help your organisation to engage more effectively with young men, then you might be interested in a free one day workshop titled 'Connecting with Young Men'.  This workshop has been developed by the Men’s Health Forum in Ireland (MHFI) - funded by the HSE’s National Office for Suicide Prevention - and is a new Unit within the highly regarded ‘Engage’ National Men’s Health Training Programme.

MHFI is, currently, looking for groups and individuals who would like to host this free workshop for their staff / volunteers / activists or to participate in one of the ‘Open Workshops’.  For more details visit: www.mhfi.org/ConnectingWorkshops.pdf

The Equality Commission for NI invites you to a Gender Equality Seminar on Wednesday 4th November 2015, in Malone House, Barnett Demesne, Belfast, from 9.45am to 4.00pm.  The Commission is proposing to refine and develop its gender equality policy priorities and recommendations, and is seeking the views of stakeholders to help shape and inform the final policy.  The proposals cover a range of areas, including tackling gender stereotypes and promoting gender equality in education, employment, provision of care, participation in public/political life, health and sport.  The proposed gender equality priorities and recommendations are set out in a draft Gender Equality Position Paper which can be accessed at: www.equalityni.org/ECNI/media/ECNI/Publications/Delivering%20Equality/GenderEquality_Policypriorities.pdf  For further information, please contact Cynthia Rice at Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | Tel: 02890 500673.

You are invited to a half day conference on men’s health which will be held on Thursday 19th November 2015, from 9.30am - 12.30pm, in the Market House, The Square, Ballynahinch, Co. Down.  Dr Ian Banks, President of the European Men’s Health Forum, will be the keynote speaker at this event which is aimed at organisations and individuals who work with men or have difficulty engaging with them.  The programme will also include Finian Murray from the Men’s Health Forum in Ireland who will talk about how to engage men using humour.  Emma Bohill, an independent consultant, will discuss men’s resilience in sport, while Philip Campbell from Down Arts will outline how his organisation has had success in linking with men through art projects.  There will also be a range of health information stands available.  The conference has been organised by the newly formed Men’s Health Group in the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust area.  To book a place, Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Tel: 028 4461 2311.

The Public Health Information and Research Branch Information Analysis Directorate (within the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in Northern Ireland) has recently published a report on 'Life Expectancy Decomposition 2015: Explaining the Variations'.  This document draws upon indicators which are monitored over time to assess area differences in mortality, morbidity, utilisation of and access to health and social care services in Northern Ireland, and has expanded over recent years to include additional work streams relating to health inequality.  A copy of the report can be downloaded from: www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/index/statistics/health-inequalities/life-expectancy-decomposition.htm