The Guardian view on men’s health: the needs of different groups can only be addressed in a functioning system | Editorial

MOn average, women have a lower life expectancy than women – by around four years in the UK. They account for three-quarters of all suicide deaths and are more likely to smoke and be overweight. Young men are more likely than young women to die from accidents, violence or overdoses. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men, with approximately 12,000 deaths each year. A public consultation on whether to introduce screening for the disease opened last week, after an expert committee recommended against it.

The Men’s Health Strategy for England, launched recently by Health Secretary Wes Streeting, should therefore be welcomed in principle. Just as the women’s health perspective helps policymakers focus on women’s reproductive health and risks, the men’s health perspective should help target specific issues more effectively.

The question is whether our overburdened health system is able to use this new tool as needed to improve outcomes. If not, the document won’t do any harm, but it also won’t serve much purpose beyond providing an officially approved summary and potentially useful messages.

In terms of resources, the strategy provides £300 million in 2025-26 for community health projects. While this is a useful reserve for primary care innovators to draw on, it is not enough to make a difference nationally. More significant is the upcoming review of the GP funding formula, which is expected to result in more funding for poorer areas where people are, on average, in poorer health. There is also a commitment to improving the data, disaggregating it by sex but also by other characteristics, to make the vulnerabilities of specific groups (such as men from particular ethnic minorities or gay men) clearer.

Other new commitments include a campaign to encourage walking and running, following the success of the NHS Couch to 5k app. The strategy also demonstrates the government’s support for peer and experiential support networks in drug and alcohol treatment and cancer care programs. The pilots launched as part of the government’s Get Britain Working strategy are particularly relevant for young men who are more likely than young women to be Neet (not in education, employment or training).

The new academic network on men’s health, which will provide expert advice, appears useful, but will have to select its priorities from the daunting number of issues raised in the strategy. These include the impact of social media use on the mental health of men and boys, a possible link between internet pornography and sexual dysfunction, and the suggestion that men on average have lower levels of “health literacy” than women.

Improving men’s health – including better detection of male cancers – is sound public policy in its own right and, if communicated well, can also resonate with voters. A £42million prostate cancer screening trial is already underway. This strategy and related campaigns must not become a distraction from a larger and deeply troubling situation. Huge waiting lists for treatment and the disruption caused by a costly reorganization of the NHS are a problem for men with drug problems, prostate cancer or any other illness, as they are for everyone else.

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