Men's Health Week 2024: Empowering Good Health Heroes
Around 40 per cent of poor health and premature death among Australian men can be prevented by healthier habits and this Men’s Health Week —10-16 June — we’re giving blokes the superpower to change their wellbeing for the better.
Healthy Male and Western Sydney University’s Centre for Male Health have joined forces to launch the Good Health Heroes campaign to educate Australian men on the health issues most likely to affect them and encourage prevention through sustainable lifestyle changes. Using data from Ten to Men’s longitudinal study on male health, it’s underpinned by research that highlights the conditions that men experience the highest burden of disease, which includes diabetes, various cancers, stroke, heart disease, injury, mental health disorders and reproductive and sexual disorders.
“We want to remind men that looking after your health takes a bit of time and effort, but it’s not as hard as you might think and it’s far less difficult than dealing with a health condition,” Healthy Male CEO, Simon von Saldern says. “Start with small changes like a walk around the block each day or adding a new vegetable on your plate each week and work your way up.”
The campaign focuses on six key foundations of good health in men — nutrition, exercise, connection, reducing risk-taking, health literacy and sleep — and champions self-manageable, achievable and sustainable habits to improve their outcomes in each one. The campaign features a range of resources such as infographics, case studies and health practitioner education activities. The campaign is also supported by key experts and organisations such as the Australian Fatherhood Research Consortium, Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care, Australian Men's Health Forum, Australian Men's Shed Association, CPA Australia, Dads Group, Centre for Gender Equity in Health and Medicine, Flinders University - Rural and Remote Health NT, Freemasons Centre for Male Health, Gotcha 4 Life, Macquarie Street Psychology, MATES In Construction, Movember, Next Practice, Ozhelp, PANDA, Ten to Men, The Men's Table, The University of Adelaide, Western Sydney Wanderers, Young Blood - Men's Mental Health, and Sydney Water.
“It’s more important than ever to come together to highlight the importance of men’s health and the profound and positive impact that improving it can have on our whole community,” says Associate Professor Emma George, Director of the Centre for Male Health.
Men's Health Week is an international initiative that takes place every June and focuses on all the factors contributing to men’s wellbeing. Over the week, key experts in the men’s health space highlight the challenges men face in prioritising their health and how both individuals and healthcare systems can overcome them.
Western Sydney University’s Centre for Male Health and Healthy Male have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), aimed at enhancing the health of men and boys.
The MoU will establish and build a framework to strengthen the relationship between the organisations for a range of initiatives, starting with the Good Health Heroes campaign.
For more information on Men's Health Week, our Good Health Heroes and how you can get involved, visit www.goodhealthheroes.org.au (opens in a new window).
ENDS
28 May 2024
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