What was Men's Health Week like elsewhere in Europe? We can all learn from what others are doing. Professor János Métneki, Scientific Advisor to the National Institute for Health Development in Budapest, reports on the week in Hungary.
For the sixth year now since 2004, the International Week on Men’s Health is celebrated in Hungary.
The most significant event in this year's Week was the academic conference of 16 June, at which presentations were held on the topics of mental health, various addictions, suicide, obesity, sports, road transport, workplace hazards affecting men, risk situations and the possibilities for their prevention and elimination, as well as osteoporosis in men and men’s doctor-visiting behavior.
All presentations were held by relevant experts, with which the program contributed to the professional development of the large audience of over a hundred people. The audience, who followed the presentations with great interest and attention, consisted mainly of doctors, health professionals, and people working for NGOs.
During the Week there were different activities that connected to the organized events. Those activities focused on mobilizing men, in the first place for health screenings, and they also drew attention to adopting a healthy lifestyle. Primarily in industrial parks and large- scale plants in Budapest and twelve bigger cities, people could have their blood sugar level, blood pressure, cholesterol and BMI determined free of cost, in a program called ’For the Health of Men 2009’ by Bayer Hungary.
In the course of the week, 500 men responded to the invitation and took part in the screenings in Budapest and at four provincial sites. Interestingly, next to the expected men above 40 years old, almost half of the visitors were younger than 40, which might be explained by a higher health consciousness in the younger generation.
A similar screening program for men was organized by the Men’s Health Guard Club. In four medicinal baths (which are frequented by older people), free blood pressure, blood sugar and PSA-measurements were offered, as well as nutritional advice and urologic consultations. Over 400 men between the age of 40 and 60 took part in the screening. Participants were rewarded in style with a beach ball.
Oldest medical school
In the course of the week, all fourteen students visiting for a special lecture series on men’s health successfully passed their examinations. The lecture series were guided by professor emeritus Dr. Simon Tamás and took place at Semmelweis University in Budapest, the oldest medical school in Hungary founded in 1769. The lecture series will continue in the next semester with a similar number of students.
The national events associated with the Week received adequate media attention in the daily press and through electronical media, as news items or in the form of interviews with some of the speakers. A more detailed report will be published in the Hungarian scientific journal ’Health promotion’, and the text of the presentations will appear in a separate publication.
