June is Men’s Health Month
Follow and join the conversation with #MensHealthMonth, #MensHealthWeek, #MHMonth16 and #ShowUsYourBlue.
National Men’s Health Month (MHM) is an observance led by the Men’s Health Network (@MensHlthNetwork). The goal is to raise awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys. In addition to MHM, Men’s Health Week is also celebrated each year the week leading up to and including Father’s Day. This year MHW will be celebrated from June 13th – 19th. During the month of June a variety of health education and outreach activities such as screenings, health fairs, and media appearances take place to encourage men and boys to put their health first. As Congressman Bill Richardson once said, “Recognizing and preventing men’s health problems is not just a man’s issue. Because of its impact on wives, mothers, daughters, and sisters, men’s health is truly a family issue.” Tweet This
Men’s Health Network
Men’s Health Network (MHN) was founded in 1992 by a group of men’s activists, therapists, and writers interested in improving the health and well-being of men, boys and families. It is a non-profit organization whose goal is to bring health awareness and disease prevention messages directly to men and boys through MHN is dedicated to enriching men’s health and wellness through a broad spectrum of national screening and educational campaigns.
Steps to Improve Health
There are many things you can do to improve your health. The Men’s Health Month website and Men’s Health Network both offer several resources to get you started on the path to better health. To begin with, MHN encourages frequent check-ups and specific preventative screenings based on age and provides guidelines and a schedule to follow. In addition, men should take care of both their physical and mental health. In order to provide some guidance, MHN offers a downloadable book, Blueprint for Men’s Health, which discusses the main health issues that men face today. Blueprint identifies the factors that increase health risks, shows how to recognize symptoms, and gives practical, easy-to-implement prevention strategies.
Get Involved
There are a variety of ways you can participate in National Men’s Health Month/Week and help inform others. People across the country can easily get involved online. Use prewritten messages and infographics to spread the word through social media with easy-to-use resources from the Men’s Health Month website. Take a minute to join the National Men’s Health Week Thunderclap scheduled for June 1st and encourage others to do the same. To stay updated on the latest activities you can follow and like the Men’s Health Month Twitter and Facebook accounts. Encourage the men in your life to visit a doctor and check out resources to learn about health challenges unique to men. Tweet This
For those of you who are more hands on, you might consider simply encouraging the men in your life to visit a doctor and checkout resources to learn about health challenges unique to men. Interested in a bigger way to support MHM? Consider organizing a Wear Blue event on Friday, June 17th at your place of work and participate in the #ShowUsYourBlue campaign. Finally, a simple but effective way to spread awareness is to set up a table at a store, restaurant, hallway at work, gym, library, community center, etc. with brochures and information on men’s health and Men’s Health Month.
