All this week we’re recognising and celebrating International Men’s Health Week, a global initiative dedicated to raising awareness about men’s health and encouraging a proactive approach to well-being.
Given the number of male colleagues within Corporate Shipbuilding, it’s a really appropriate one for us to celebrate and encourage everyone, irrespective of gender prioritise their health.
But let’s focus on men and why there is a Men’s Health Week in the first place, so here are some quite shocking statistics – each bullet point has a link to more information:
- Men are 67% more likely to die from the common cancers that affect both men and women
- Men are nearly twice as likely as women to die prematurely from diabetes
- 2 in 5 men admit to regularly feeling low or worried
- 40% of men won’t talk about their mental health
- 40% of men said it would take thoughts of suicide or self-harm to compel them to seek professional help
- Men with mental health problems can earn 42% less money than men without them
We recently caught up with Bill Burke, Chief Maritime Officer about what made him choose to Speak Up on a recent maritime update call about his own personal journey, he told us:
“Stories are sticky – people remember them and act upon them. Knowing that many men get prostate cancer later in life and that most on our call are younger than me, I thought it was a good opportunity to reach many in our group hoping they would ask for a PSA blood test when eligible.”
Thanks, Bill, for being so open and using your own personal circumstances to help raise awareness amongst the team.