Top 5 Ways Hospitals Can Promote Men’s Health

To make the most out of National Men’s Health Week (June 13 – 19) we’ve come up with the top five ways hospitals can encourage men to start making their health a priority.

1.  Offer Medical Services

With an emphasis on disease prevention, your hospital can offer screenings for blood pressure, blood glucose, cholesterol, body mass index (BMI), hearing, heart disease, prostate cancer, and colorectal cancer.  

You can also provide vaccines such as seasonal influenza and Tdap for tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis.

2.  Hold a Health Fair

A health fair is a great way to help raise awareness and provide practical action steps that lead an individual to make informed health decisions. To help your event be a success, we suggest including the following:

1. Screenings
2. Health information booths – Recruit Doctors, Dentists, Chiropractors, wellness centers and nonprofit organizations.
3. Fitness demonstrations – Invite local yoga studios, gyms, and martial arts centers to provide information about their facilities and to include an interactive component, such as demonstrations.
4. Free food – A local dietician or a health-focused restaurant could cook on site and pass out samples.

If your hospital needs a guide or template to planning a health fair or screening, refer to thislink.

3.   Wear Blue Day

The Friday of National Men’s Health Week (June 17 for 2016) has been officially designated as Wear BLUE Day for the week.  Men’s Health Network created Wear BLUE to raise recognition about the significance of male health and to urge men to live longer and fitter lives.  Guidelines and F.A.Q’s for Wear BLUE include:

• Choose the day that works for you.  It doesn’t necessarily have to be Friday.
• Set a monetary goal.  This will provide a fundraising target to shoot for.
• Pick BLUE.   The wearing of casual and humorous blue work attire and accessories can add to both the message and the fun.
• To help raise money, sell blue prostate cancer pins or other relevant merchandise.
• Hold a contest for the best blue outfit.
• Include these excellent ideas for your Wear Blue toolbox.
• Employ a Blue Donations and Sign Up Form and a Wear Blue Submission Form.

4.  Informational Speakers

The hospital can recruit educational speakers for the breadth of topics related to men’s health issues during the week.  These speakers can, of course, include doctors, nurses, and other healthcare personnel, but also sports figures, dieticians, and practitioners of holistic health.

Admittedly, the term lectures can sometimes take on a “dry” connotation.  However, they don’t have to be.  Encourage your speakers to include eye-catching visuals in their presentation as well as be interactive. 

5.  Encourage friendly competition

Get competitive!  To help spark some creativity, here are a few ideas:

• Steps – Each employee can record their steps taken during their shift. The employee with the most steps by the end of the day will be the winner.
• Jeopardy – Quiz your employees on men’s health topics.
• Sport tournament – Schedule a day, time, and location where your employees can get together and break up into various teams to play a certain sport, such as basketball, kickball, or softball. The last team standing wins!

If you want to go above and beyond and provide prizes for the winners, consider donated items from local fitness centers, health markets, or sports clothing stores.

Now that you’ve read through our top five ways hospitals can promote men’s health, you’re ready to start making a difference in your community! So, whether you choose to implement one or all of these activities/ events…know that you’re positively impacting the lives of men and their families.