Men’s health advocate Ian Berner-Smith, Cranbourne MP Jude Perera and Peninsula Health senior community clinician Greg Holding launch International Men’s Health Week in Cranbourne.
By Sarah Schwager
THE health and wellbeing of men and boys will be the focus in Cranbourne next week for International Men’s Health Week.
The aim of the week, which runs 11-19 June, is to encourage men to start talking about and acknowledge their physical and mental health.
Cranbourne MP Jude Perera and representatives from local men’s support services kicked off the week in Cranbourne focusing on the One Stop Men’s Shop initiative for Cranbourne.
“Men and boys face different health concerns than women and girls and International Men’s Health Week is an opportunity to both acknowledge these differences and look for ways to improve the health and wellbeing of men and boys,” Mr Perera said.
“There are many factors impacting on the physical, social, emotional and spiritual health of all Australian men and boys.”
These include the changing social and economic roles of men and loss of identity, relationship breakdown, racism, homophobia, negative attitudes towards disability, life threatening diseases and injury, mental health issues including depression, anxiety and suicide, unemployment, low wages, working patterns and hours, fathering and separated fathers and lack of men’s health services.
Men’s health advocate Ian Berner-Smith said more than 800 men attended a recent men’s health forum with Peninsula Health and it was very well received.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics Mortality Atlas Australia shows that the death rate was generally higher for men than women.
Andrology Australia figures show that one in 20 Australian men is infertile and one in seven men have problems with their prostate while testicular cancer is the second most common cancer in men aged 18-39. See www.andrologyaustralia.org for more information.
Another forum will be held called Men Behaving Positively on 13 June in Frankston and includes speakers, former cricketer Merv Hughes, youth worker Les Twentyman, AFL footballer Wayne Schwass and Policy and Cabinet director Tom Bentley.
Call Greg on 0419 007 638 for more information.
