The Men’s Health Sector came together at Men’s Health Connected on Wednesday to reflect on advances in men’s health and what needs to happen to improve outcomes for men and boys in Australia.

Men’s Health Literacy was front and centre on day two of the Men’s Health Connected online gathering on Tuesday, where researchers, health practitioners and program organisers discussed the best approach to reaching men about their health.

As well as being the title of a 2015 rom com with an 80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Man Up is also a 3 x 1 hour documentary series funded by Movember about masculinity and men’s mental health featuring Gus Worland (Gotcha4Life).

Earlier this month, the Australian Men's Health Forum was approached by EMG GOLD, a magazine for senior pharmaceutical executives, which has a particular focus on educating Medical Affairs (MA) and marketing professionals in the industry.

International best practice tells us that one of the key ways to improve men's access to healthcare is by developing male-friendly services. This was acknowledged in Australia’s first National Male Health Policy, which called on all health professionals to “make their practices more male-friendly.”

International best practice tells us that one of the key ways to improve men's access to healthcare is by developing male-friendly services. But what is a male-friendly service?

Clearly, there is no one-size-fits-all-approach that will work for all men and boys. There are differences between groups of men, as well as differences within individual men themselves that need to be taken into account. 

Australia's men's health sector is a world leader in developing innovative, male-friendly approaches to engaging men in health services. This report honours that tradition and identifies some of the key characteristics that are common to health initiatives that work for men, both in Australia and overseas. 

There are many different ways to develop male-friendly services. The 10-step-guide provides anyone who is committed to improving the lives and health of men and boys with a set of tried and tested principles that can be applied universally to a general population of men as well as being tailored to the diverse needs and preferences of different populations across Australia. 

DOWNLOAD: MAKING SERVICES WORK FOR MEN. A 10-step guide to developing male-friendly health services

DOWNLOAD: MALE-FRIENDLY SERVICES POSTER

Sometimes, the obvious just gets overlooked.

Meet James Smith, a program coordinator for the Moree Aboriginal Fathers’ Program, which supports the needs of Aboriginal fathers and their extended families.

Amid handouts to Australians coping with loss of income owing to the coronavirus, there’s welcome news for those Men’s Sheds across the country who received additional funding through the recently announced National Shed Development Program Round 20 handouts.

Yamba, on the NSW North Coast, is famous around the world for its surf breaks, perfect beaches and a gentle night-time buzz. It is now the latest home of a growing program that provides mental health support for local men and teens while they are out on the waves.