Men's Health Strategy for England: call for evidence

There is currently an invitation to everyone in England to provide information to the Department of Health and Social Care about men’s health.  This invitation is to individuals aged 16 and over and organisations, as well as staff, academics and people working in health and social care.  Men are disproportionately affected by a number of health conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, more men commit suicide and life expectancy is lower than for women.  So a survey is being carried out by the Department of Health and Social Care with a call for ideas and evidence on which to base the first ever Strategy for Men’s Health.  It is open now, and everyone is invited to respond.

There is a document online entitled ‘Open call for evidence - Men’s Health Strategy for England: call for evidence’ which gives information about the survey.  It is on the Government website at https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/mens-health-strategy-for-england-call-for-evidence/mens-health-strategy-for-england-call-for-evidence  This document provides information about issues with men’s health, areas on which the strategy will focus, on improving outcomes and men’s access to healthcare, and may also consider contributing factors such as training and education, research and governance.  The aim will be to focus on preventative measures and changing behaviour to promote healthier lifestyles in order to improve men’s health and life expectancy.

The survey includes questions for individuals, for professionals and academics and, in a separate list, questions for organisations.  The document makes clear that completing the survey will not give access to healthcare.  People who need healthcare should request it in the normal way.  Individuals who complete it will be asked for information about themselves.  The document lists the questions which will be asked.  You do not have to answer all of them in order to take part.

There is a statement about how the data which are collected will be stored and used, and which organisations will have access to it.  It will be held in SurveyOptic which is a private company.  This entry states that data which are collected will be anonymised and used by the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and it may be shared with other Government Departments, and SocialOptic which is a private company will be involved in data analysis.  The data will be held for one year and then ‘securely erased’.

The rights of ‘data subjects’, i.e. individuals who provide information for this survey, are listed and include the right to ask for copies of information used, to get information corrected, to limit how it is used, and to get information deleted.  There is a complaints process.

You can respond to this survey online on the Government’s website at https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/mens-health-strategy-for-england-call-for-evidence/mens-health-strategy-for-england-call-for-evidence

This consultation started on 24 April this year and it is due to close at 11.59 p.m. on 17 July.