Meeting the challenges associated with men's health policy implementation – key lessons learned to date from Ireland

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-310
Author(s):  
N. Richardson
2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (SP1) ◽  
pp. e23-e35
Author(s):  
Noel Richardson ◽  
Paula Carroll

Historically, men, as a population group, have been conspicuous by their absence at a global and national health policy level. Moreover, most gender-focused health policy initiatives and gender-mainstreaming approaches to health have tended to be synonymous with women’s health. This places Ireland’s National Men’s Health Policy (NMHP) and recent external 5-year review in the collector’s item category within the wider health policy landscape.   This paper will review the impetus and background to men’s health policy development in Ireland against a backdrop of the invisibility of men more generally from health policy. Reflecting on the key milestones and challenges associated with transitioning from policy development to implementation, the paper will seek to inform a wider public health debate on the case for targeting men as a specific population group for the strategic planning of health. The case for a NMHP on the grounds of a gender inequity will also be explored in the context of contributing more broadly to gender equality. There will be a particular focus on exploring how strategies associated with governance and accountability, advocacy, research and evaluation, partnerships and capacity-building, have acted as a catalyst and framework for action in the rollout of a broad range of men’s health initiatives. With the central challenge being the translation of cross-departmental and inter-sectoral recommendations into sustainable actions, the role of NMHP in applying a gender lens to other policy areas will also be discussed.   Ireland’s NMHP has raised the visibility of men’s health in Ireland; the lessons learned during its implementation provide a strong rationale and blueprint for NMHP development elsewhere.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 155798832097923
Author(s):  
Chanita Hughes Halbert ◽  
Caitlin G. Allen ◽  
Melanie Jefferson ◽  
Gayenell S. Magwood ◽  
Cathy Melvin ◽  
...  

The Transdisciplinary Collaborative Center (TCC) in Precision Medicine for Minority Men’s Health was established at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in 2015 to address disparities in the translation of precision medicine approaches among racial minority groups. This regional consortium focuses on three primary areas: (1) the development of a consortium of regional and national partners, (2) conducting transdisciplinary research examining synergistic effects of biological, social, physiological, and clinical determinants of chronic disease risks and outcomes, and (3) dissemination and implementation of precision medicine approaches, with an emphasis on reducing disparities in health care and outcomes among minority men. Given consistent calls to better translate precision medicine approaches and the focus of this consortium on addressing disparities among minority men, we provide an overview of our experience in developing the MUSC TCC, including barriers and facilitators to conducting translational research on minority men’s health issues in the context of precision medicine. Lessons learned and areas for improvement include providing enough time to create consistent partnerships and community engagement to improve recruitment and retention, identifying unique ways to engage diverse partners from across the region and nation, and better approaches to dissemination and communication for large partnerships focusing on precision medicine.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriella M. McLoughlin ◽  
Peg Allen ◽  
Callie Walsh-Bailey ◽  
Ross C. Brownson

Abstract Background Governments in some countries or states/provinces mandate school-based policies intended to improve the health and well-being of primary and secondary students and in some cases the health of school staff. Examples include mandating a minimum time spent per week in programmed physical activity, mandating provision of healthy foods and limiting fat content of school meals, and banning tobacco products or use on school campuses. Although school health researchers have studied whether schools, districts, or states/provinces are meeting requirements, it is unclear to what extent implementation processes and determinants are assessed. The purposes of the present systematic review of quantitative measures of school policy implementation were to (1) identify quantitative school health policy measurement tools developed to measure implementation at the school, district, or state/provincial levels; (2) describe the policy implementation outcomes and determinants assessed and identify the trends in measurement; and (3) assess pragmatic and psychometric properties of identified implementation measures to understand their quality and suitability for broader application. Methods Peer-reviewed journal articles published 1995–2020 were included if they (1) had multiple-item quantitative measures of school policy implementation and (2) addressed overall wellness, tobacco, physical activity, nutrition, obesity prevention, or mental health/bullying/social-emotional learning. The final sample comprised 86 measurement tools from 67 peer-review articles. We extracted study characteristics, such as psychometric and pragmatic measure properties, from included articles based on three frameworks: (1) Implementation Outcomes Framework, (2) Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, and (3) Policy Implementation Determinants Framework. Results Most implementation tools were developed to measure overall wellness policies which combined multiple policy topics (n = 35, 40%) and were in survey form (n = 75, 87%). Fidelity was the most frequently prevalent implementation outcome (n = 70, 81%), followed by adoption (n = 32, 81%). The implementation determinants most assessed were readiness for implementation, including resources (n = 43, 50%), leadership (n = 42, 49%), and policy communication (n = 41, 48%). Overall, measures were low-cost and had easy readability. However, lengthy tools and lack of reported validity/reliability data indicate low transferability. Conclusions Implementation science can contribute to more complete and rigorous assessment of school health policy implementation processes, which can improve implementation strategies and ultimately the intended health benefits. Several high-quality measures of implementation determinants and implementation outcomes can be applied to school health policy implementation assessment. Dissemination and implementation science researchers can also benefit from measurement experiences of school health researchers.


2016 ◽  
pp. 134-150
Author(s):  
Augustine Nduka Eneanya

The chapter describes policy implementation components of a health system in United States of America and explains how they affect health outcomes (service delivery). It argues that implemented policies affect various components of a health system in terms of service delivery, workforce, information, financing, medical products, technologies, leadership and governance. Using health system as framework of analysis, the paper explains that the outcome of health policy implementation determines the availability, quality and equitability of program service delivery. The chapter goes on to argue that policy implementation barriers, such as demand-and supply-side barriers, market, insufficient resources, cultural barriers, imperfect communication, information, education, coordination, leadership and governance affect the poor and vulnerable groups in developed and developing countries from benefitting from public spending on public health policies and programs.


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1-2S) ◽  
pp. 93
Author(s):  
Frank Papanikolaou ◽  
Linda Lee

The growth of large metropolitan areas across Canada has fostered the need to provide tertiary care to patients outside of the traditional university-affiliated hospitals. Subspecialty urology care at centres of excellence in the community includes urological oncology, men’s health, community urology, and pediatric urology. The two of us have developed such centres of excellence in pediatric urology in the communitysettings of Mississauga, ON, and Victoria, BC. This article highlights personal experiences in developing these programs and the lessons learned. It is hoped that this can help guide similar undertakings by others to develop centres of excellence in subspecialty urology care so as to bring care closer to patients’ homes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 155798831988258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek M. Griffith ◽  
Andrea R. Semlow ◽  
Mike Leventhal ◽  
Clare Sullivan

Tennessee is the only state in the United States that has regularly published a document monitoring men’s health and assessing men’s health disparities. Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, the Tennessee Department of Health, Meharry Medical College, Tennessee Men’s Health Network, and health providers and advocates across the state have come together to publish a set of indicators as the Tennessee Men’s Health Report Card (TMHRC). This article describes the origins, structure, development, and lessons learned from publishing report cards in 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2017. The report card highlights statistically significant changes in trends over time, identifies racial, ethnic, age, and geographic differences among men, highlights connections to regional and statewide public health initiatives, and suggests priorities for improving men’s health in Tennessee. State data were compared to Healthy People 2020 Objectives and graded based on the degree of discrepancy between the goal and the current reality for Tennessee men. Over the four iterations of the report card, the TMHRC team has made significant adjustments to the ways they analyze and present the data, utilize grades and graphics, consider the implications of the data for the economic well-being of the state, and disseminate the findings across the state to different stakeholders. It is important to go beyond creating a summary of information; rather, data should be shared in ways that are easily understood, actionable, and applicable to different audiences. It is also critical to highlight promising policy and programmatic initiatives to improve men’s health in the state.


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