The Employee Wellness unit at the North-West University's (NWU’s) Vanderbijlpark Campus will be hosting an interactive Men’s Health and Wellbeing Awareness session on 25 July at 09:00 on the Vanderbijlpark Campus. The session will be interactive, allowing both online and in-person attendees to engage with the facilitators.
Event organiser and employee wellness specialist Genevieve Poodhun says they decided to host this session as statistics and input from internal and external stakeholders indicate that men underutilise available health and wellness services.
“Statistics show that men are generally less likely to engage in health-seeking behaviours compared to women. Several factors such as cultural norms, socio-economic status and lack of awareness about health issues can influence this trend. Men are less likely to seek preventive care and often delay seeking help until a condition becomes severe, possibly due to stigma and cultural expectations related to masculinity.
“Therefore, there is a need for targeted health and well-being education campaigns for men, promoting the importance of regular health check-ups and breaking down the stigma associated with seeking help," she points out.
She explains that this session aims to enhance attendees’ knowledge and understanding of men's health and wellbeing by providing information about common health issues, emphasising the significance of seeking help in the early stages of illness, and dispelling misconceptions about well-being and health issues.
"This intervention will also address fears and uncertainties associated with medical processes and will provide information on available resources and services. Furthermore, we want to emphasise the importance of routine health check-ups and screenings for the early detection of potential health issues," she adds.
She hopes that attendees, whether online or in person, will share the information they gained, serve as role models, and encourage other men to engage in more health and wellness-seeking behaviours.
The awareness session will cover various topics. Teboho Motloenya from the Department of Justice will speak about divorce, maintenance and parental isolation. Edwin Matsunyane from the Tutuzela Care Centre will give an overview of gender-based violence, focusing on men as victims, why men are reluctant to seek help, and the services available at the centre.
Dr Inga Leletu Mgaleli from the Department of Health will address men’s mental and reproductive health, adherence and lifestyle diseases.
Finally, Maruping Mothapo from the NWU’s School of Accounting Sciences will talk about budgeting and saving.
To register for the online session, please click here.
To register to physically attend the session in Building A1, G131, Council room on the Vanderbijlpark Campus, please click here.
For more information, please contact Genevieve Poodhun on 016 910 3295 or genevieve.poodhun@nwu.ac.za.
