HSE Health Promotion and Improvement is inviting applications for free places on a 'Connecting with Young Men' workshop being held on Wednesday 20th March 2019, from 9.30am - 4.00pm, in the Regional Education Centre, St. Brigid’s Complex, Ardee, Co. Louth.  The aim of this workshop is to assist a broad range of practitioners to effectively connect with young men on mental health and wellbeing issues.  It focuses on the engagement process (i.e. WHY and HOW to build relationships with young men), rather than offering a new mental health programme (i.e. what to offer them).  To book a place / get further details, contact Orla Brady at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   Tel: 046 9076443.

Join Volunteer Now for an information day on health, hobbies and activities for men.  This will take place on Tuesday 5th March 2019, from 10.30am - 2.00pm, in Crumlin Road Gaol, Belfast.  Refreshments will be provided.  To book a place, Tel: 02890 232020 or Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

'Living Inside' is a new free exhibition at Kilmainham Gaol Museum which tells the stories of six people whose experiences speak to the history of Irish prison reform - from prisoners’ protests against unhealthy living conditions to the psychological strain faced by prison officers.  Health is central to the history of prisons; both as a focus for reform and as a weapon of protest.  Each story shows how reform, health, hope, and fear have shaped the prison system that we have today.  Living Inside is part of a Wellcome Trust funded project titled: ‘Prisoners, Medical Care and Entitlement to Health in England and Ireland, 1850-2000’.  A collaboration between University College Dublin and the University of Warwick, it explores the history of health and healthcare in prisons.  For more information, see: http://kilmainhamgaolmuseum.ie/exhibitions/

These five directories list the names, numbers and web addresses (where applicable) of organisations that offer services to help improve mental health and emotional wellbeing.  You can download the updated Directory of Services for 2019 within each Health and Social Care Trust area at: www.publichealth.hscni.net/publications/directory-services-help-improve-mental-health-and-emotional-wellbeing

Empirical studies suggest gender inequity increases men’s health risks.  Multiple pathways may explain this relationship.  These pathways have not, however, been explored concurrently.  This paper is based on an extensive review of the theoretical literature linking gender inequity to men’s health: www.ijmsch.com/index.php/IJMSCH/article/view/5

On Wednesday 30th January 2019, political parties from across the spectrum in Northern Ireland united with mental health campaigners in the Long Gallery, Stormont, to call for an increase in the number of GP practices providing in-house counselling, and a decrease in the waiting times for counselling provision.  This event was sponsored by the All-Party Group on Suicide Prevention, and saw the launch of a new report titled: ‘Counselling a Vital Tool - Equipping GPs with Mental Health Expertise’.  Find out more at: www.pprproject.org/123gp-secures-cross-party-support-at-stormont-launch-event and see the NVTV coverage of this event at: www.nvtv.co.uk/shows/the-round-up-monday-4th-february-2019

Reducing sitting time, as well as increasing physical activity in inactive people, is beneficial for their health.  This paper investigates the effectiveness of the European Fans in Training (EuroFIT) programme to improve physical activity and decrease sedentary time in male football fans.  It was delivered within a professional football setting: https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002736

Boys and men are diverse with respect to their race, ethnicity, culture, migration status, age, socio-economic status, ability status, sexual orientation, gender identity and religious affiliation.  Each of these social identities contribute uniquely and in intersecting ways to shape how men experience and perform their masculinities which, in turn, contribute to relational, psychological, and behavioural health outcomes in both positive and negative ways.  Although boys and men, as a group, tend to hold privilege and power based on gender, they also demonstrate disproportionate rates of receiving harsh discipline, academic challenges, mental health issues, physical health problems, substance abuse, incarceration and early mortality - as well as a wide variety of other quality-of-life issues.  Additionally, many men do not seek help when they need it, and many report distinctive barriers to receiving gender-sensitive psychological treatment.  To meet this challenge, the American Psychological Association has issued guidelines to help psychologists to work with men and boys.  You can see these at: www.apa.org/about/policy/boys-men-practice-guidelines.pdf   Dr John Barry - from the Male Psychology Network - offers some alternatives to the new APA guidelines at: https://malepsychology.org.uk/2019/01/10/is-there-an-alternative-to-the-new-apa-guidelines-for-working-with-men-and-boys