What more can we do to improve men’s health? Pharmacist Michael Achiampong shares his personal viewpoint about improving the health of men and boys.  

Men and boys’ health – physical, mental and emotional – has rocketed up the healthcare agenda and public awareness like never before.1,2 There is new impetus for some long-running initiatives such as Movember3 and International Men’s Day (IMD), 19 November.4

The shock of Sir Chris Hoy’s terminal prostate cancer prognosis,5,6 and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s patron, King Charles’s, unspecified cancer diagnosis7 has truly awakened public awareness about the impact of cancer and its knock-on impact on families, friends and public embarking on the cancer journey.8 

Many men and boys I’ve spoken with since these high-profile cancer revelations have said they are more aware of the importance of getting symptoms checked out by a clinician much earlier than before.

Are we ready for more men and boys to visit pharmacies?

For me, this brings up a question to readers: Are community pharmacy settings and hospital pharmacy outpatient departments geared up for the empowered male to be queueing at your pharmacy counter? 

I raise this question because we know that the perception of attentive customer service by some men in busy pharmacies can be mixed. As a healthcare consumer, there are palpable differences for me whenever I visit my optician, dentist or other healthcare provider, usually because of factors such as more staff or space, or the enthusiasm by which I am greeted.

At one of my local hospital pharmacy outpatients, I’ve often observed older men with walking sticks or frames waiting ever so patiently but struggling for some acknowledgment by pharmacy reception staff. The (old-fashioned) hatch-counter where one rings a bell doesn’t seem to work.

And I know nothing irks my elderly father more than waiting at his well-known multiple pharmacy counter waiting patiently to collect his monthly medication. Alas, it’s as if the counter assistants seem intent on finishing their convo about the cat or dog or last night’s telly first. ‘Ask Your Pharmacist? Pah!’, my dad said to me later that evening, ‘It’s like waiting for Godot!’

Of course, we all know that pharmacy teams are so busy. But the fact of a negative user experience remains for some men.

Does your pharmacy truly promote the health awareness days that affect the diversity of men and boys in a user accessible way as much as they might do for breast cancer month9 and menopause or other female health awareness campaigns?10 I’ve been learning from my two younger siblings – one a GP pharmacist and the other a consultant in women’s health – that women and girls in general are neither shy in vocalising their healthcare needs and wants nor reticent about complaining over poor customer service in healthcare settings.

Similarly, what concrete steps could be taken to begin to address healthcare issues impacting men and boys? The stereotypical banter of ‘Manning UP to man flu’ or being the ‘stoic, strong, silent type’ seems old school – what else could we do as pharmacy professionals and healthcare providers?

Perhaps sharing relevant, short and snappy health stories in the same way as the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology’s Waiting for A Way Forward might provide practical direction?11 Another positive approach to communicate involves one of my yoga teachers. He overcame ME in the 2000s and now gets invited regularly to schools around the country teaching young boys, girls, and their teachers the basics of mindfulness and meditation methods. This idea is a great help to mitigate school stress and generalised anxiety around SATs, exams, gender ID/puberty blockers and addiction to social media’s propensity to compare and despair.

Is it time to appoint ministers of health for men and boys?

I believe that the Labour government’s pre-Election manifesto; post-Election mandate and subsequent Halloween Budget to ‘fix the broken NHS’ give a pivotal opportunity for pharmacy to lobby for the appointment of ministers of health for men and boys in all four home countries.

Please consider writing to your local MP and contact the secretariat of the All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPG) to facilitate this, as well as your local, regional, national and global pharmacy networks.

Concerted lobbying, in addition to Sir Chris Hoy’s hint for earlier, targeted screening of men at higher risk of prostate cancer, could ignite rocket fuel to the fire for a long overdue national debate and ultimately, equitable policy shifts.1,2

For prostate cancer, it is curios that two distinct sets of national guidance co-exist regarding the PSA (prostate-antigen) blood test. On the one hand, the National Institute for Care and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidance NG131 describes PSA testing in symptomatic men.12 On the other hand, the Prostate Cancer Risk management (PCRMP) guidance describes PSA testing for asymptomatic men at [higher] risk of prostate cancer [due to family history as per Sir Hoy; or men of African or Caribbean descent] who request to be tested for PSA.13 

Helpfully, both guidelines recommend that men are counselled by appropriately trained clinicians about the benefits and risks to enable them to decide whether or not to have a PSA blood test. Gloucestershire GP Dr Mark Porter and medical correspondent for The Times recently discussed inaccuracies of the current PSA test as a screening tool with the possibility of too many false positives and negatives. Such results could then unduly alarm or falsely reassure this cohort of patients of the PSA status.14  

Sir Chris Hoy’s advocation for a more targeted, national PSA screening campaign is item for the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to add to his overloaded in-tray.

Statistics confirm that men and boys need pharmacy's support

More action on men’s health and wellbeing is needed. Stark statistics from the Men and Boys Coalition15 and Equi-law UK16 reveal that men and boys are:

  • Lagging behind at every stage of educational attainment and are more likely to be excluded from school.
  • Comprise only 45% of university entrants.
  • 13% of males aged 16 to 24 years of age are not in education, employment or training;
  • Self-harm/suicide rates are three times higher than women’s.
  • Healthy life expectancy is 3.7 to 4.5 years lower.
  • Are more likely to present later with cancer and other serious illnesses.
  • Comprise most rough sleepers; homeless; prison population; asylum seekers and refugees.
  • Many grow up with little to no contact with their biological father.
  • Are often portrayed negatively the media as hapless buffoons (thanks, Boris) unless they’re pampered footballers, gilded actors or adored rock stars.

There are things to be done, right now!

There are practical and meaningful opportunities to engage and improve the health disadvantages experienced by the diversity of men and boys in your family, workplace, schools and sports clubs, barbers and men’s sheds.

At the time of writing this piece, I struck up a conversation with a retired policeman in a cafe. He noticed the prostate cancer badge pinned to my suit jacket. And unscripted, he shared his shock of being on the prostate cancer journey after investigations into his troublesome night-time symptoms. His eventual acceptance of the diagnosis and subsequent treatment involved urging his nephew to get checked as well. Eighteen months, the latter man is glad to be alive.

Another group of men I ‘ve become more cognisant of are widowed men in my faith community. Perhaps they’ve no relatives living near-by but just about managing in a warden-controlled home. But who checks up that they’re eating enough calories and are keeping warm and hydrated? Are they getting enough regular daily movement or exercise?

Depending on their mobility, the pharmacy delivery driver might be the only person someone encounters once in a while at their front door? Is their repeat ordering of prescriptions systematic or haphazard? Is there some evidence of polypharmacy or medication hoarding on a pre-planned domiciliary visit? Are there signs of pressure sores or other non-healing skin conditions?

I was also struck by the number of younger delegates queueing at one exhibitor’s stand for male pattern baldness at the October Pharmacy Show. Vanity of vanities? Or is this an insight into the psychological health priorities of 49% of the population?

What next? I do suggest that it would be great to have a devolved minister for men’s and boys’ health in place by this time next year. There is so much to do. Let’s get working to help get this message shared.

And just think, a healthy and happy man could inspire a boy/young adult to become the healthiest person they could be; and maybe they could even entice more to consider the pharmacy profession as apprentices, interns and/or pre-registrants of the future?  Please use your voice to support men’s health.

Michael Achiampong, BSc (Hons) Pharmacy, MSc, is a registered pharmacist and an active member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Michael is currently working as a locum pharmacist for a pharmacy homecare company. His career has encompassed all sectors of pharmacy in GB as well as two years’ working in the American healthcare system and volunteering in a West African mission hospital.

References 

  1. The Manopause. Menopause matters. (BBC Radio 4). Broadcast on 11 November 2024. Available on BBC Sounds until 13 December 2024.  
  2. Inside Health (BBC Radio 4) Broadcast on 12 November 2024. Available on BBC Sounds until 11 November 2025. 
  3. The Movember Foundation uk.movember.com [accessed 15 November 2024] 
  4. International Men’s Day (IMD) ukmensday.org [accessed 15 November 2024] 
  5. Sir Chris Hoy. News Review. The Sunday Times. 27 October 2024 page 23. 
  6. nhs.uk/conditions/prostatecancer [accessed 15 November 2024] 
  7. King Charles royal.uk/a-statement-from-Buckingham-Palace [published 5 February 2024; accessed 18 November 2024]  
  8. cancerresearchuk.org [accessed 15 November 2024] 
  9. nhs.uk/conditions/breastcancer [accessed 15 November 2024] 
  10. nhs.uk/conditions/menopause [accessed 15 November 2024]
  11. rcog.shorthandstories.com / waiting for a way forward [published & accessed 18 November 2024] 
  12. nice.org.uk/guidance/ng131/chapter/Recommendations [accessed 15 November 2024] 
  13. prostatecanceruk.org/for-health-professionals/navigating-nice-ng12-and-pcrmp-guidelines-for-psa-testing [accessed 15 November 2024] 
  14. Sir Chris Hoy’s story will worry a lot of men, but don’t panic (c) Dr Mark Porter. The Times. Health feature. 22 October 2024 page 4. 
  15. The Men and Boys Coalition menandboyscoalition.org.uk 
  16. www.equi-law.uk/appg-menboys