Where are the Men?

Where are the Men?

March 23, 2015

No, this isn’t a blog about dating websites as a social determinant of health … although it could be I suppose! 

This is about an initiative that Northern Health, in British Columbia, undertook to improve the health of men in their region, and how their work showcases community engagement as a promising practice to reduce inequities in health. 

Although men are not typically considered a “disadvantaged” group, the Chief Medical Health Officer for Northern Health became concerned with what he was seeing.  The data showed that men in northern BC were dying earlier than women of virtually all causes; life expectancy for males, on average, was about 5 years shorter than that of females; and men living in the region did not live as long as their male counterparts in the lower mainland. 

In response to this concern, Dr. David Bowering produced the 2011 report entitled “Where are the Men?” to showcase some of the health challenges men living in northern BC faced, including higher rates of cancer, suicide, occupational deaths, and chronic disease as well as lower access rates to health care services.  As a result of the Bowering report, and the attention it received in the media and throughout northern BC, the Men’s Health Initiative was launched. 

The Men’s Health Initiative is founded on the belief that traditional approaches to offering public health services are based on a “feminine-centred” model and weren’t successfully reaching out to men in the community. Something different had to be done. 

The Men’s Health Initiative includes a website with information targeted to a male audience, health promotion events in community locations where men are already engaged, and various workplace wellness initiatives.  Managers of the program engaged potential clients throughout the development, implementation and maintenance phases.  They recognized the impact men’s health has on the health of the population as a whole.

According to Julie Kerr (Past Director, Population Health), the success of the Men’s Health Initiative can be credited to the following factors:

  • Leadership commitment at all levels in the organization
  • Dedicated resources, including a project coordinator and a small budget
  • Creative communication was used to develop a “brand” that was attractive to men
  • Community consultation by engaging men in northern BC communities throughout the process
  • Community engagement and education by setting up at events popular among men, highlighting fathers in communication materials and videos targeted to families, and hosting competitive challenges on their website
  • Use of humour to engage men in the conversation
  • A focus on health equity promotion framed in terms of the overall effect men’s health has on the population as a whole, to avoid pegging the needs of one population against another

Northern Health has recognized that the healthier men are, the more likely they are to be better partners, fathers, providers, and role models.  Women and children are more likely to be healthier in communities where men are productive, healthy, less violent, and when fathers are actively involved parents.

Please visit the NCCDH Resource Library for related materials, including:

We would like to hear from you!  What have your successes been in using community engagement as a practice to improve health equity?  What resources do you find helpful?  Please send your ideas and examples to Lesley Dyck, Knowledge Translation Specialist.

With thanks to Helena Wall, Julie Kerr, Theresa Healy, and Brandon Grant for their help in preparing this story.

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