June 2010 World Leaders in Men's Health to Speak at NUI Galway

The Health Promotion Research Centre (HPRC) at NUI Galway will host its annual summer conference on Thursday, June 10 and Friday June 11, 2010. The focus of the conference will be on men's health. The aim of the event is to promote best practice in multidisciplinary approaches to improving men's health. The conference programme includes keynote addresses from two world leaders in the field of men's health; Professor Alan White of Leeds Metropolitan University, and Professor John MacDonald from the University of Western Sydney. Minister for Health and Children, Mary Harney, T.D. will attend NUI Galway on the second day of the event and give closing remarks at the conference. The programme will provide delegates with key insights into best practice and innovative approaches to tackling men's health, focusing on important international and national developments in the area of men's health; key settings in which to target men's health initiatives (for example primary care, community settings, workplace); and examples of how to target different sub-populations of men including; young men, rural men and men in the travelling community). The conference programme will appeal to a wide audience including health promotion personnel, primary care teams, community workers, youth workers and voluntary agencies. The focus on men's health is timely in light of the publication, in 2009, of a National Men's Health Policy (NMHP) in Ireland. The NMHP sets out key areas of recommendation in men's health relating to areas including: Strengthening public policy on men's health, Promoting and marketing men's health, creating strategies to promote gender competency in the delivery of health and social services, building services with a focus on preventative health, developing supportive environments for men's health and strengthening community action to support men's health. Dr Margaret Hodgins, Health Promotion Research Centre, NUI Galway said: "The conference builds on the development of a National Men s Health policy and aims to contribute to the successful implementation of this policy. A key focus of the conference will be on identifying national and international examples of successful health promotion interventions that address men s health concerns. The conference will also afford the opportunity to build partnerships and networks across agencies which facilitate multi-disciplinary work". Co-author of the NMHP and keynote presenter at the Conference, Dr Noel Richardson stated: "Much has been achieved in a relatively short space of time in promoting an increased focus and awareness of men's health issues in Ireland. This conference has an integral role to play in supporting those with an interest in or working in the area of men's health, by showcasing best practice across a broad range of men's health issues". For further information on the National Men's Health policy log on to http://www.dohc.ie/publications/national_mens_health_policy.html -Ends-