Afternoon, Monday, 11th January 2027
Online
This conference will examine next steps for improving men’s health and wellbeing in England, as England's first Men's Health Strategy completes its first year, and following the establishment of the Men’s Health Academic Network to support its implementation and strengthen the evidence base.
Areas for discussion include early experience of putting the Strategy into practice, looking at what this means for commissioning and service design at local level, and for improving prevention and access to earlier intervention. Delegates will consider emerging priorities for research, diagnostics, data and monitoring, as well as preparations for targeted prostate cancer screening from 2027. The particular needs of young and working-age men will be considered, alongside the links between health, employment and economic participation.
Discussion will assess early progress as implementation develops, including for the Men’s Health Academic Network and Stakeholder Group and the move into delivery of the Men’s Health Community Fund. Attendees will consider what is beginning to work in practice, where barriers remain and where further evidence or action may be needed. The Academic Network’s work on evidence gaps, emerging issues and approaches to evaluation will also be examined, alongside the forthcoming one-year-on report and areas of focus for the next phase.
Sessions will consider what wider NHS changes mean for men’s health at local level as ICBs merge and move towards strategic commissioning, and as neighbourhood health services develop under the 10 Year Health Plan for England. Priorities for prevention, earlier intervention and access to services will be discussed, alongside adressing pressures on public health budgets, workforce capacity and GP continuity.
Further sessions will consider what is needed for effective community-based approaches to become part of sustained local provision as projects supported through the Men's Health Community Fund get under way. Approaches to improving men's engagement with health services will be discussed, including reaching groups less likely to use conventional services and strategies for supporting healthier behaviours. Delegates will also examine preparations for targeted prostate cancer screening, including identification of eligible men and the position of men at increased risk who fall outside the currently recommended programme. They will look at how men's health priorities sit alongside the renewed Women's Health Strategy and the forthcoming mental health strategy, as well as developments under Keep Britain Working. The use of sex-disaggregated data in identifying inequalities and measuring progress will also be a focus.
Implementation, local delivery & accountability
The agenda will discuss early experience of implementing the Men's Health Strategy across national, local and community organisations, and priorities for the next phase. Discussion will assess progress against the initial actions set out in the Strategy, and whether commissioning, funding and accountability arrangements are supporting delivery across different local health systems and communities.
Areas for discussion include:
- progress & oversight: findings of the one-year-on report - role of the Men’s Health Stakeholder Group and voluntary sector partners - arrangements for accountability and reporting
- local systems:
- men’s health within integrated care board commissioning, local authorities and public health structures - implications of ICB mergers and reduced running costs for commissioning capacity
- links with local neighbourhood healthcare plans
- mainstream commissioning: moving from time-limited initiatives to sustained local provision - funding beyond pilot programmes - workforce capability and men's health training for professionals
- community reach:
- pharmacy-first approaches, community outreach and neighbourhood health services - partnerships with sport, employers and the voluntary and community sector
- Men's Health Community Fund and programmes for those least likely to engage with traditional services - reaching men less likely to use conventional services
- place-based inequalities:
- variation in outcomes across deprived urban areas, former industrial areas, coastal and rural communities
- men experiencing homelessness, those in contact with the criminal justice system and other groups with the poorest outcomes
- gender-responsive approaches: the relationship between men's health and the renewed Women's Health Strategy - shared delivery routes through primary care and neighbourhood services
Prevention, earlier diagnosis & targeted screening
Priorities for improving prevention and earlier diagnosis will be assessed, along with approaches to improving outreach to men at highest risk. Discussion will consider how to address barriers such as delayed presentation and lower service uptake among some groups, alongside next steps for risk identification, stratification and the appropriate use of diagnostics and screening. We expect a further focus to be equity of access to treatment for major causes of ill-health and premature mortality among men.
Areas for discussion include:
- primary care & health checks: engagement with GP, NHS Health Checks and preventative services - workplace and community-based checks - digital access through the NHS App
- cardiovascular & other conditions: identifying and reaching those at higher risk - type 2 diabetes - risk stratification and follow-up care
- prostate cancer:
- preparing for targeted screening from 2027 - identification of eligible men with BRCA2 variants and a relevant family history - genetic testing pathways, capacity and equity of access
- expanded TRANSFORM trial and the position of Black men and others at higher risk outside the programme
- cancer pathways: implications of the National Cancer Plan for reducing inequalities in access to diagnosis and treatment - home PSA testing for men on active monitoring - specialist capacity
- healthier behaviours: alcohol and substance misuse - smoking and gambling harms - links with mental and physical health - access to treatment and recovery support
- delivery constraints: workforce capacity - GP continuity - public health budgets - pressure on diagnostic services
Research, evidence & assessing progress
Delegates will examine the evidence and data needed to identify what works for different groups of men and to track progress over the life of the Strategy, alongside priorities for strengthening the evidence base.
Areas for discussion include:
- Men's Health Academic Network: priorities for research - identifying research gaps - evidence on health literacy, help-seeking and engagement with services
- sex-disaggregated data: availability and use in commissioning and monitoring services - local dashboards - variation in outcomes between groups of men and what works in different settings
- evaluation: NIHR evaluation of the Men's Health Community Fund - measures of reach, retention and equity as well as uptake - decisions about wider adoption of effective approaches
- measuring progress: meaningful measures for the Strategy's long-term ambitions - contribution to narrowing the gap in healthy life expectancy - accountability frameworks
- research priorities: prevention, service engagement and diagnostics - risk stratification - the wider factors affecting men's health
Mental health, suicide prevention & employment
The agenda will also assess next steps for improving suicide prevention and mental health. We expect there to be a particular focus on reaching young and working-age men. Discussion will consider the contribution of employers and workplaces alongside NHS, local government, community and voluntary sector services.
Areas for discussion include:
- suicide prevention: priorities for suicide prevention and rapid-response pathways - community projects and partnerships through sport
- accessing help: tackling barriers such as stigma and social isolation - gender-responsive mental health support - self-referral and NHS Talking Therapies
- young men: social connection - online influences and harmful content - young men not in education, employment or training - improving pathways into work through mental health support
- pathways: NHS services, community organisations, peer-support networks and voluntary sector providers - co-occurring mental health and substance use needs
- policy alignment:
- forthcoming mental health strategy, following the 2026 call for evidence
- the Suicide prevention strategy for England: 2023-2028 - implications for mental health and suicide prevention provision
- workplace health:
- implementation and emerging learning from Keep Britain Working - employer-led support networks
- occupational health services and access for smaller employers - pilots in male-dominated industries
- economic participation: relationship between men's health, economic inactivity, workforce participation and productivity - collaboration between health services, local government and communities
All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates.
