Resources

Samaritans – Men, Suicide and Society Report

When men and boys encounter issues around mental health they are more likely to resort to detrimental health behaviours – often these behaviours are used to mask or numb feelings. There is a stigma to getting help with mental health issues, and this is doubly impacted when men have learning disabilities or are disadvantaged in other ways ie refugees with no networks in the area. That is why it is important to have a full picture of Men’s health to look at root causes.

There are other areas that need addressing to tackle the stigma and discrimination against Men and mental Health – like eating disorders, breast cancer and sexual violation.

See below statistics taken from Men’s Mental Healthy forum looking at the challenges facing men and boys.

On average, more than one in five men is still dying between the ages 16 and 65, and more than two in five before the age of 75 – with death rates amongst men in the poorest areas of the country being even worse.

Heart disease and cancer

Men are still more likely to die of circulatory disease and cancer.
75% of premature deaths from coronary heart disease are male.
Men have a 37% higher risk of dying from cancer and a 67% higher chance of dying from cancers that affect both men and women (Excluding breast cancer and those cancers that affect either women only or men only).

Obesity

67% of men are overweight or obese.

Diabetes

Middle-aged men are twice as likely to have diabetes as women – and twice as likely not to know they have diabetes.

Suicide

Four in five suicides are by men – suicide is the biggest cause of death for men under 35 and there has been a sharp increase in the rate among men aged 35-64.

Lifestyle

Men are more likely than women to:

smoke, smoke more cigarettes per day and smoke hand-rolled tobacco
eat too much salt
eat too much red and processed meat
eat too little fruit and too few vegetables
drink alcohol and drink at hazardous levels. Men are twice as likely to have liver disease.

Remove the barriers to using health care, mental health and preventative care – especially for men of working age:

Sort out opening times and access so they work for full-time workers
Improve online access, booking and other interaction
Stop using drug or alcohol problems as a barrier to mental health treatment – invest in integrated care for dual diagnosis
Deliver on the recently announced access & waiting time standards for mental health
Greater use of self-help groups and peer-led services.

Reach out proactively:

Take services to where men are: workplaces, online, pubs, sports grounds, betting shops, prisons etc.
Where it’s not already happening, extend occupational health to include screening and preventative health measures
Create a ‘Mental Health Diversion Duty’ in the criminal justice system and emergency care – intervening more effectively to reduce the number of people arrested under Section 136. Deliver national coverage by 2017
Increase health check outreach and uptake amongst men
Start bowel cancer screening earlier, especially for higher risk men, including MSM.

Make the most of it when men do engage with health services:

Include cancer symptom awareness, mental health, sleep apnoea and erectile dysfunction in health checks
Special focus on high-risk infrequent attenders
Co-design new services with men.