Men’s Health Month: Prepare Your Allied Health Team to Promote Men’s Health
June is Men’s Health Month. This provides an opportunity for healthcare organizations to not only promote men’s health awareness but also to close the gap that exists between what men perceive about their health and their actual health habits — most believe they live a healthy lifestyle, but 44% don’t get an annual physical and 49% don’t follow a healthy diet.1 Allied health training can help prepare your team to play a positive role in health habits, but why should they (and you) care?
Why Prioritize Men’s Health?
Nearly half of the U.S. population is male.2 This makes men’s health an important topic for many. Shining the spotlight on this topic can also give male patients and their loved ones the information they need to help improve their health both physically and mentally.
Some men may not know that they have risk factors for certain conditions, for example. Learning this information may prompt them to make certain healthcare decisions or lifestyle changes that have the potential to improve their quality of life or extend their longevity.
Making men’s health a priority also tells the individuals and families you serve that you support their well-being. Your organization can establish itself as a leader in this space by staying at the forefront of the most important (and most detrimental) health issues for men.
Men’s biggest health threats
Some of the top threats to men’s health are heart disease and cancer, as well as lung disease, strokes, and diabetes.5 Additionally, 83% of men say they’ve experienced stress in the last six months, but most are hesitant to seek professional help — and 44% don’t prioritize mental health.1
When your organization makes men’s health a priority, it can help to encourage your patients or customers to do the same. Your allied health team plays a fundamental role in this process.
Men’s Health: The Role of Allied Healthcare Professionals
Doctors can directly impact male patients’ health by accurately diagnosing conditions and prescribing appropriate treatments. Allied health professionals also play a key role in many ways.
Collecting important health information
Some allied healthcare professionals are tasked with interviewing patients and recording their medical histories. This information helps physicians gain a clearer picture of the patient’s overall health, disease risk, and more.
Other allied health workers, such as those who’ve completed medical assistant training, can measure patients’ vital signs, draw blood for testing, and collect samples for other lab tests. Through these additional tasks, providers can obtain more of the information they need to effectively identify, monitor, or treat patients’ health concerns.
Promoting health awareness
Allied health professionals can also promote men’s health by making patients more aware of the health conditions that can affect them most, their causes and risk factors, and prevention strategies. This may include sharing information, materials, or resources for heart health awareness, for example, or informing them about diabetes, lung disease, or another topic important to the patient’s health.
Supporting preventive care
Early disease detection can improve treatment effectiveness, reduce negative impacts of the condition, lower healthcare costs, enhance quality of life, and even improve mortality.7 Allied health staff can play a role in early detection by connecting patients with preventive screenings recommended based on their age and health risks.
Men’s Preventive Health Screening Recommendations (Ages 40-64)8
| Type of Screening | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Blood pressure screening | Once a year; more often if it is high or you have certain risk factors |
| Cholesterol screening | Every 5 years for men with normal levels; more often if levels are high or you have other conditions |
| Colorectal cancer screening | Depends on the test: stool-based tests every 1 to 3 years; flexible sigmoidoscopy every 5 or 10 years; virtual colonoscopy every 5 years; colonoscopy every 10 years |
| Diabetes screening | Every 3 years if overweight or obese; more often with other risk factors |
| Lung cancer screening | Ages 50-80 years for those with a 20-pack-year smoking history and currently smoke or have quit within the past 15 years |
| Prostate cancer screening | Ages 55+, but only after speaking with a provider about the pros and cons of testing (i.e., potential harms, risks, etc.) |
A perhaps lesser-known option for men is that some preventive care services are available at their local pharmacies. This includes receiving vaccines, health education, and support.9 As allied healthcare professionals, pharmacy technicians can assist with this process by connecting patients with the pharmacists on staff.
Guiding male patients toward a healthy lifestyle
Male patients can also take advantage of health and wellness guidance from allied healthcare professionals. Staff in these roles can provide patients with materials, information, or resources that offer strategies for living a healthier life.
Topic areas to consider include:
- Nutrition – potential resource: Dietary Guidelines for Americans
- Exercise – potential resource: Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans
- Stress management – potential resource: Managing Stress (from the National Alliance on Mental Illness)
Empower Your Healthcare Team to Promote Men’s Health
Collecting important health information, promoting health awareness, supporting preventive care, and guiding patients toward a healthy lifestyle are some of the ways your allied healthcare team can help advance men’s health. What can you do as an employer to empower them to take these actions?
Get staff engaged
Employee engagement has fallen to a 10-year low according to Gallup’s annual update.10 When workers aren’t engaged, they’re not committed to or excited about their jobs. They may not feel inspired to play an active role in healthcare initiatives, such as those related to men’s health.
To avoid this type of environment in your organization, develop strategies to boost employee engagement. Help your team find meaning in their work, make them feel appreciated and supported, and keep communication lines open — this can also boost productivity, reduce turnover, and improve customer satisfaction.11
Account for limited time
If you’re facing a worker shortage, your staff may not have the time to fully educate every male patient about their health and wellness. They can still offer reputable resources that men can check out to learn more about their health. Provide these resources on a handout, list them on your website, or add them to a newsletter. These are all ways to share important information about men’s health when limited time exists.
Men’s Health Resources
- Men’s Health (National Library of Medicine)
- Men and Heart Disease (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Cancer and Men (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Prostate Cancer Screening (National Cancer Institute)
- Men and Mental Health (National Institute of Mental Health)
- Men: Take Charge of Your Health (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion)
Offer training opportunities
Giving staff access to healthcare training and certification programs can promote men’s health in a couple of ways. First, it can help workers build their skill sets, giving them more tools to provide quality patient or customer care. Second, offering these programs tells employees you’re invested in their professional growth, which can increase their level of engagement.11
Nasium Training: Your Partner in Allied Health Training
Nasium Training offers a variety of allied health programs designed to provide your employees with the knowledge and skills needed to perform the essential functions of their job. Options include:
- Pharmacy Technician training (24 weeks)
- Medical Assistant training (25 weeks)
- Licensed Health Agent training (2 weeks)
Some training courses are fully online while others include in-person clinical instruction for hands-on training. In both options, our training approach provides learners with instruction from subject-matter experts, access to synchronous and asynchronous learning tools, and more.
Contact us to learn more about our healthcare employee training programs or to discuss how Nasium Training courses can be customized for you.
1 Cleveland Clinic. Cleveland Clinic Survey Examines the Current State of Men’s Health in America. https://newsroom.clevelandclinic.org/2023/09/06/cleveland-clinic-survey-examines-the-current-state-of-mens-health-in-america
2 United States Census Bureau. QuickFacts: United States. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/LFE046223
3 Reeves, R. Six Facts on Men’s Health. American Institute for Boys and Men. https://aibm.org/research/six-facts-on-mens-health-from-aibm/
4 Califf, R. The Concerning Trend in Men’s Health. FDA. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/fda-voices/concerning-trend-mens-health
5 Mayo Clinic. Healthy Lifestyle: Men’s health. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/mens-health/basics/mens-health/hlv-20049438
6 CDC. Mens Health. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/mens-health.htm
7 Setyati, R., et al. The Importance of Early Detection in Disease Management. J World Future Med Health Nurs. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dadang-Hasyim/publication/377529921_The_Importance_of_Early_Detection_in_Disease_Management/links/65aab76abf5b00662e1e7175/The-Importance-of-Early-Detection-in-Disease-Management.pdf
8 MedlinePlus. Health screenings for men ages 40 to 64. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/007465.htm
9 CDC. Pharmacist Toolkit: Participate in the National Diabetes Prevention Program. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes-prevention/hcp/pharmacists/index.html
10 Harter, J. U.S. Employee Engagement Sinks to 10-Year Low. Gallup. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/654911/employee-engagement-sinks-year-low.aspx
11 Indeed for Employers. How to Increase Employee Engagement (With Actionable Tips). https://www.indeed.com/hire/c/info/how-to-increase-employee-engagement
12 Tatel, C., Wigert, B. 42% of Employee Turnover Is Preventable but Often Ignored. Gallup. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/646538/employee-turnover-preventable-often-ignored.aspx
