'Work is the place to improve men's health'

The Men's Health Forum (MHF) said men were far less likely than women to visit their GP or local dental practice and participated in fewer public health improvement programmes of all kinds.

Men still spent far more of their lives in the workplace, according to the MHF. Overall there were more men than women in paid employment - 15.9 million men compared with 13.5 million women - and men were twice as likely to work full time - 14.1 million men compared to 7.8 million women.

Men also worked more overtime, with 30% working more than 45 hours per week compared to just 10% of women, and men still tended to retire later than women.

At the same time, men developed many serious illnesses earlier than women - for example 10 to 15 years earlier in the case of heart disease. Figures also showed that 16% of men compared to 6% of women died while still of working age.

Dr Ian Banks, president of the MHF, said these factors meant there should be a shift in policy in favour of delivering health improvement services in the workplace in order to improve male health.

"The new approach that we're proposing would help to tackle health inequalities and contribute to the wider choice, greater flexibility and patient-centred delivery that are the central objectives of current national health policy," he said.

Health manual

Dr Banks went on to say that there was an increasing and convincing body of evidence that health improvement initiatives in the workplace were not only effective at engaging men, but were also welcomed and valued by men.

"In this sense, workplace interventions have gained an endorsement from men that may have been lacking in previous population-level initiatives," he said.

The call for a shift in the delivery of health improvment services to the workplace came as part of National Men’s Health Week, organised by the MHF.

To mark the week, the Forum also launched a new "Haynes manual" offering advice to men on how to keep healthy during the working day. The manual includes tips on how to combat stress, how to stop smoking, healthier eating and how to deal with back pain.

UK based businesses can buy the 'Men and Work' guide in boxes of 100 for £100 including postage and packing. The manual is A5 in size, 32 pages long and in full colour.

For further information contact Matthew Maycock at the MHF via email - matthew.maycock@menshealthforum.org.uk.