The Men’ s Health and Wellbeing Programme (MHWP) was established by The Larkin Unemployment Centre in partnership with the Glasgow Celtic Football Club, in Dublin’ s North inner city, a socially disadvantaged area.
The MHWP objectives include:
- assisting men to develop skills and knowledge to take control of their own health, providing information in an accessible and gender sensitive way, acting as a catalyst for men to effect positive change through purposeful activity,
- providing new opportunities for men to engage in sporting activities,
- developing appropriate learning strategies,
- building capacity in the community,
- promoting alternative social and recreational spaces for men to meet, and
- creating a context that locates learning as part of community life and not fixed to a particular space or time.
The programme was effective in improving participant’ s health in areas such as blood cholesterol, BMI, blood pressure and fitness levels. The programme was also effective in increasing men’ s awareness of health, improving personal development and empowering and building social capital in the community.
> Source: Policy Precis – Making the link: Gender and health equity.
