Have you heard about 'Please Talk'? ...   Please Talk is Ireland's student-led mental health movement in third level institutions.  If students experience problems at home, college, or in their private lives, they can visit www.pleasetalk.org where they can find support services either on-campus (by selecting their college) or off-campus through www.yourmentalhealth.ie   Please Talk was first launched in January 2007 in response to the deaths of a number of students by suicide in University College Dublin.  It is supported by the Health Service Executive through the National Office for Suicide Prevention.  Please Talk urges students to understand that talking is a strength not a weakness and, if they’re experiencing problems while at college, there are people there who they can talk to.

Parenting NI seeks to ensure that parents are involved in the design and development of services for families.  They are especially keen to improve understanding of what dads need and what they would benefit from.  To meet this aim, they are conducting a survey, and are seeking fathers to participate in it.  The questionnaire takes approximately 2-3 minutes to complete and responses will remain strictly confidential.  To get involved, visit: http://gettingdadsinvolved.questionpro.com

This year, over 3,400 men in Ireland will hear the words: 'you have prostate cancer'.  However, for most, such a diagnosis does not mark the end of their journey.  Thanks to early detection and advances in treatment, there are over 26,000 prostate cancer survivors in Ireland today.  Over 90% of men diagnosed with the disease will survive.  While coping with cancer treatment can be difficult, the Marie Keating Foundation is shining a light on these stories of prostate cancer survival to give hope and support to men affected by the disease.  The 'Heroes of Hope’ exhibition shares the experience of 15 different men who have survived this cancer.  These men have one thing in common: they are living proof that while being diagnosed with prostate cancer will change your life, there is life after it.  The exhibition has now moved to the Aviva Stadium and will be there until the end of March 2017.  It is in an outdoor area of the stadium, beside Lansdowne Road West, at the DART underpass.  This area is permanently open and accessible for visits at anytime.  The exhibition will be on display here during the Six Nations rugby matches as well as during two soccer internationals.

In December 2016, Minister of State for Health Promotion, Marcella Corcoran Kennedy TD, launched 'Healthy Food for Life' - the new Healthy Eating Guidelines and Food Pyramid for the Republic of Ireland.  Healthy Food for Life is a practical resource for the general population (five years of age and over).  Its aim is to provide people with the nutrition advice needed to achieve a balanced diet, maintain a healthy weight and encourage positive lifestyles.  To find out more, visit: www.healthyireland.ie/health-initiatives/heg

Do you know what it’s like to go through the cancer journey with a family member or close friend?  Would you like to use your experience of caring for someone suffering with cancer to help others who could benefit from your story?  The School of Nursing and Midwifery at Queen’s University Belfast want to create a website which can be used for sharing and accessing information about: what it is like to care for someone with cancer; tips and techniques on how to manage the caring experience; supporting your own health and wellbeing while caring for someone with cancer; links to support available to help to manage the caring role.  As part of this work, they would like the help of people (especially men) with experience (past or present) of looking after someone to advise on the proposed website content and/or to be filmed talking about what it is like to care for someone with cancer.  For more information, contact Theresa McShane at Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | Tel: 02890 975854 | Mob: 0044 775 3451059.

ManPowered is an innovative healthy lifestyle project - recently launched by Cancer Focus Northern Ireland - that aims to improve the health outcomes of local men who have low risk prostate cancer.  In Northern Ireland, over 1,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year, making it the most common form of cancer in males.  ManPowered will begin in the greater Belfast region, and will later move out into the Western, Southern and South Eastern Trust areas.  This lifestyle project is being offered to men who are having their prostate monitored by their GP (i.e. ‘under active surveillance’).  The programme is tailored to men’s needs and interests, and includes a range of physical activities, cookery classes as part of a healthy eating regime, health checks, lifestyle goals, music and social activities to improve social connections and mental health.  The year-long project is being funded by the Burdett Trust for Nursing and will run throughout 2017.  If you’d like to find out more, contact Maresa McGettigan on Tel: 02890 680743 or Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Unpaid carers play a vital role in supporting our health and social care system.  Buckner and Yeandle (2015) estimated that the support provided by the 220,500 carers in Northern Ireland is £4.6 billion per year.  This is similar to the entire 2016/17 Stormont health budget.  ‘The Impact of Caring’ is a Research Update produced by ARK which draws upon data from the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey, and focuses upon the impact of caring on carers.  It sets the data in the context of recent and forthcoming policy developments.  To download this document, visit: www.ark.ac.uk/publications/updates/update109.pdf

Researchers at Ulster University are set to lead a pioneering international research programme which aims to improve the sexual health of men, and their partners, after a prostate cancer diagnosis.  Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men and treatments can lead to a number of physical and emotional challenges.  In Northern Ireland, there are over 8,000 men living with and after prostate cancer, and there are over 330,000 men living with the disease UK-wide.  More than three quarters of those who have had treatment for prostate cancer report experiencing erectile dysfunction.  This three year study will see the creation of new flexible support packages designed to address individual needs and empower men and their partners to manage their sexual health challenges prior to and after treatment.  The resources include: a web-based sexual recovery programme for men and their partners; an engagement tool to ensure quality communication between health professionals and men and their partners; an online sexual health training programme for health professionals caring for men living with prostate cancer.  The research will be led by Professor Eilís McCaughan at Ulster University’s Institute of Nursing and Health Research alongside colleagues from the Northern Ireland Cancer Centre, Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, University of Surrey, University of Southampton, University of Michigan and University of Toronto.