ABOUT US
Men in Ireland die, on average, nearly six years younger than women do, and have higher death rates at all ages, and for all leading causes of death. Evidence of sex differences in the incidence, symptoms, and prognosis of a wide range of health problems is also well documented.
There has, however, been little evidence to date that these differences are reflected in the planning and delivery of healthcare, or in wider social and economic policies (Doyal 2001). Whilst the issue of women's health (Department of Health and Children 1997) has been the source of extensive consultation and careful strategic planning in the Republic of Ireland, the same cannot be said for men's health. Although men have been identified as a target population group, for the first time, in the strategic planning of health promotion and healthcare (Department of Health and Children 2000; 2001), there appears to have been little momentum to act on these initiatives.
There is growing evidence that in constructing, displaying and maintaining their male identity, men engage in risk behaviours that can be seriously hazardous to their health (Courtenay 2000). Since sickness may be seen as an expression of weakness, many men may decide not to seek help and, instead, present a stoical, brave and unflinching front to the outside world.
The absence of a strategic policy on men's health is partially a result of very sparse and fragmented research into men's health in Ireland. However, there is also a need for an awareness-raising body which believes that there is a need to support the health needs of men.
The Men's Health Forum in Ireland (MHFI) is a voluntary network of individuals and organisations, men and women, who wish to redress this deficit by collating the key concerns relating to men's health on the island of Ireland as well as increasing understanding of these issues.
The links below give more detail about MHFI and its work ...
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The Men's Project
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Health Forum in Ireland