see also ... Clinical Skills Canberra PHC 2000
Rural Workplace RHC

Abstract of Paper for the 3rd National Men's Health Conference
Alice Springs
Good Practice……………Men and Boys Health

Our paper will highlight the MAN model, which develops partnerships with Health Providers, Community Groups and Community organizations to meet the needs in their community focusing on men, families and boys.

The MAN model adopts a Best Practice and Evidence Based approach with projects that successfully stimulate community response by "confronting" men with culturally relevant health programs and identifying the health issues of major concern in any given l population This has had a significant impact on the expectations for health care within local communities.

From these initial health programs the Centre for Advancement of Men's Health (CAMH)has provided ongoing advice and support to many communities in developing initiatives and skills to address the identified health issues for men and boys. We also provide assistance and skills, to enhance key partnerships and intersectoral collaborations between health providers in their communities.We achieve this through a Professional Development Program for General Practitioners and other Health Practitioners based around evaluated data and research.

The MAN model has developed as a flexible and locally responsive service delivery package that creates a pathway for men to address their health needs and concerns. The model can be applied in any community to individually tailor men's health programs that are socially and culturally relevant. Implicit in this model is the partnerships between service delivery, community health groups and the community (men). Input from Divisions of General Practice, Community Health Centres and Allied Health Professionals is sought to produce an appropriate package for that community. It is important to note that Primary Health Care facilities are available in most areas, and in one form or another in rural areas. New services and resources do not have to be instituted to meet men's needs. The MAN model has the flexibility to enable men and health providers to effectively use existing services in culturally relevant ways for preventative men's health programs. This is the pathway that the MAN model creates - a pathway to existing services.

Our future is to develop our skills; our information, and research based on data,findings and academic discussionthrough our colloboration with Latrobe Iniversity Bendigo so that we maintain a Best Practice Approach which will better enable us to meet the needs and issues of men and boys health and wellbeing. This will help others to adopt, based on community research, a best practice model approach to male health

The MAN Model has effectively enabled men to address their health issues and provided a forum by which General Practitioners and other Health Professionals could communicate with men in the community. The partnership of the Centre for Advancement of Men's Health, the Hepburn Health Service, Daylesford and the Centre of Research for the Advancement of Rural Health has created opportunities for rural communities from Victoria to Central Queensland to address male issues. . With our knowledge, we hope to then provide health promotion initiatives with GPs and other Health Practitioners that develops preventative programs to reduce the risk of mortality, morbidity and risky behaviour for men and boys.

This is especially relevant to rural communities where health services and GP's are limited and isolated. We offer communities an alternative by addressing their health issues through raising their awareness and participation in a variety of programs that meet their needs.