Movember on campus

News | Posted on Tuesday 3 December 2024

On Friday 22 November, we collaborated with the Movember team to bring their 'problem shared' Moustache Bench to campus to encourage conversations about men's health, and highlight our BALM programme.

The visit was part of Movember’s partnership with the University: they help to fund the BALM programme which we play a key role in. The programme involves the development, delivery and evaluation of a tailored behavioural activation intervention specifically for men working in frontline roles in the NHS. It offers early mental health support designed to improve low mood and anxiety, aiming to break the avoidance behaviour cycle often seen in men experiencing mental health challenges.

Paul Galdas is Professor of Nursing and Men's Health and leads the project:

"Men’s health impacts each and every one of us, and the ‘Problem Halved’ bench is a reminder that we need to work together to amplify our ability to make real, lasting change that doesn’t just tinker around the edges but revolutionises the rules and fundamentally improves the quality of healthcare and health education for men and all genders."

The bench works like a seesaw - it won't balance with just one person on it, so two people need to sit down and chat to make it work properly: it's a physical demonstration of the saying 'a problem shared is a problem halved'.

The Movember campaign is for everyone to get involved in; the charity's visiting team and Paul were joined on the day by local MP Rachael Maskell and by student ambassadors.

Stevie Scott, who's a student nurse in Health Sciences and a Movember Ambassador, joined the event to tell her story about losing her father to prostate cancer in 2019 when he was 60 years old:

“When I was 15, I lost my dad, Simon, to prostate cancer after a long battle and at the end of his life, he was in and out of hospitals and then a hospice. I was 7 or 8 when he was diagnosed and I don’t remember my dad ever being completely healthy - I just remember the illness. I support Movember because I am dedicated to spreading awareness and encouraging more men to see their GP early. My dad pushed aside his health concerns until it was too late to cure him because he didn’t feel like he could take time off as a contractor. It is devastating losing a loved one but through fundraising and raising awareness we can prevent men from dying young."

Contact us

imry@york.ac.uk

Contact us

imry@york.ac.uk