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June is Men's Health Month

It probably comes as no surprise that most men do not like going to the doctor. In fact, women are 100% more likely than men to get an annual routine exam, according to the CDC.

To encourage self-care for men and boys, June is recognized as Men's Health Month and Men’s Health Week is celebrated the week leading up to Father’s Day (June 11-17, 2018). The goal of these observances is to educate on the importance of prevention, early detection, and treatment of diseases affecting men and boys.

A study by the Cleveland Clinic showed only 3 in 5 men visit the doctor for a routine physical. Even when uncomfortable symptoms present themselves, men are more likely to ignore and endure the pain, resulting in exacerbated conditions.

The statistics show that men have plenty of reason to visit their primary care physician:

  • Heart disease affects 450,000 men yearly
  • 13 million, or over 60%, of adult men are obese, a breeding ground for chronic illness
  • Over 7,000 men are diagnosed with cancer each year
  • Testicular cancer is the most common in young men (ages 15-35) but is 100% treatable when caught early
  • After age 50, men are twice as likely as women to develop skin cancer, especially on the scalp and ears
  • Depression affects more than 6 million men and leads to one of the top causes of death for men, suicide
  • On average, men live five years less than women

Promoting Men’s health should be more than just a monthly campaign, but part of your work culture. Encourage employees to speak up, be proactive, find a primary care physician, get preventive screenings, and know and understand their benefits.

Here are five ways you can promote awareness around men's health month this June:

  1. Promote a Wear Blue Day

  2. Men’s Health Network promotes a Wear Blue Day the Friday before Father’s Day (June 15, 2018) but a company can choose any day or make every Friday a Wear Blue Day. Employees can either dress up, dress down, wear blue ribbons, or blue jeans.

  3. Best Beard Contest

  4. Encourage the men in your company to grow out their beards for a week, two, or even the whole month of June. At the end of the month, the man with the best beard wins.

  5. Encourage a Routine Exam

  6. To promote the importance of prevention, every man that gets his annual physical during the month of June will be entered into a drawing for a gift card.

  7. Have a Speaker

  8. Bring in someone to educate on the diseases affecting men or importance of prevention and early detection. Another option would be to have someone with one of the disease speak to how it has changed his life.

  9. Company Activity

  10. Encourage activity by coordinating an activity such as softball/baseball, basketball, bowling, etc.; or consider encouraging/sponsoring employees to participate in a local 5K/Fun Run or hold your own!

For additional ways to promote awareness during men’s health month, contact your OneDigital representative.

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