Looking after male health

November sees a fun charity event called Movember, when men are encouraged to grow moustaches to raise awareness of men’s health issues such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer and men’s suicide.

While it is a fun event, it highlights that men’s health is often an under-serviced area of community health, and we need to raise awareness of the need for men to look after their health.

A major policy initiative is the Government’s National Men’s Health Strategy 2020-30 which has identified five priority health issues:

• Mental health
• Chronic conditions
• Sexual and reproductive health and conditions where men are over-represented
• Injuries and risk taking
• Healthy ageing

The strategy recognises that too often in the past, men have been reluctant to seek help with health issues – and mental health issues in particular – but that culture is changing, and men recognise that “soldiering on” does no-one any good.

Community pharmacies can play a pivotal rise in this area, providing advice and confidential counselling for health issues which a man may need help with. Men’s health has often been either neglected or narrowed down to urological issues, but it is important to note that among the 10 most common causes of death among men are heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, cancers, and mental health issues.

Mental health is an area of growing concern for many men, where community pharmacies are playing an increasing role in addressing it. Community pharmacists are in the position to identify the first signs of mental health deteriorations and start a confidential conversation as they are one of the most trusted health professionals in the local community.

Community pharmacies are the most accessible healthcare in Australia, so men feeling anxiety, depression, loneliness, and other mental health issues, can feel at-ease and confident in speaking to them for advice and help. With 6,000 community pharmacies across the country, and many pharmacies open late and on weekends, they can be accessed when and wherever a man needs them.

In the past there has been a stigma associated with mental health issues but those days – thankfully – are behind us, and no-one entering a pharmacy to discuss depression or other mental health issues should experience judgement. In fact, they will meet trained and compassionate staff, many of whom have undergone training in the Mental Health First Aid as part of their commitment to helping patients.

While community pharmacies help manage patients experiencing mental illness across the broad spectrum, depression is the most common presentation, affecting about one in eight men at some stage during their lives.

The need to recognise and help patients suffering from depression is that it is a leading cause of suicide which in Australia claims some nine lives every day. And according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, males are three to four times more likely to take their own lives than females. Males aged 40-49 and over the age of 85 have the highest rates. These are alarming figures and community pharmacy is determined to help lower them.

Any person with any mental health issue, or anyone who knows of someone who may need help, is encouraged to have a chat with their pharmacist. Being able to walk in off the street and speak to a health professional, who listens, understands the issues, and can provide counselling, is very important.

In addition, pharmacists also are ideally placed to recognise potential early signs or symptoms of depression, anxiety, or other mental health disorders in the community pharmacy setting.

With more than 80 per cent of people using the same pharmacy regularly, a community pharmacist may be able to more easily recognise changes in a person’s behaviour and initiate a conversation. Patients also felt more at ease talking to the pharmacists that they already knew and may have been dealing with for their health needs over a long period.