Men’s Health Week, which ran from 15-21 June, aimed to improve men’s awareness of the range of available health services, and to improve the way those services are developed and delivered to men.
According to the Men’s Health Forum, men are much less likely than women to use health care services, including dentists, family planning clinics and sexual health helplines. One of the biggest risks to men’s health is their reluctance to seek help from their GP or pharmacist or to take part in health improvement programmes like weight-loss clinics. One example is malignant melanoma – more women than men develop this cancer but more men than women die from it, almost certainly because of late presentation by men.
NHS Direct has an online male sexual health checker which can be used anonymously. It provides self care information and confidential advice for a wide range of men’s sexual health issues.
