Getting men to talk about their health, especially ‘taboo’ conditions, is notoriously challenging. And that’s no cliché. Eight in 10 men would choose to endure an illness rather than seek help – and 39% have let symptoms get to the point where the pain is “unbearable”, at which point they had no choice but to visit their GP, according to a survey of 2,000 men by private health provider and insurer, Bupa.
CliniMed knew there was only one agency to help them break down the barriers and get men talking about a delicate issue – Nobull. We’ve long been happy to have open discussion about embarrassing stuff and 20 years in health marcomms means very little makes us blush. Including the issue of male incontinence.
Incontinence is a condition that affects 5-6% of men in the community, increasing to almost 50% in nursing home residents, according to Incontinence UK.
CliniMed set us the task of helping them to open the conversation for Men’s Health Awareness week, and our challenge was to support them with putting together a range of resources and information, to help men navigate life with a continence issue, find the right management option or even just hear someone else share their story.
The first challenge was to track down a male incontinence sufferer that was willing to be filmed telling his story. We very quickly discovered that incontinence is something men really don’t want to open up about. Finding and working with the fantastic Errol McKellar, MBE was a stroke of luck and an enormous pleasure. We even got to interview him down at the pub. Even better!
We also involved prostate cancer survivor and campaigner, Errol, in a special podcast recording with some brilliant healthcare professionals (we know quite a few of those!). We recruited TV doctor, Oscar Duke, and oncology nurse, Jonah Rusere, for our frank, face-to-face chat about all things incontinence related.
Clinimed’s men’s bladder health web page went live on Monday 12th June, with CliniMed sharing the resources via its various marketing channels @clinimed_securicare throughout Men’s Health Awareness Week.
It’s been both an enlightening and humbling experience working on this project and we’re very proud of the end result. The campaign webpage and supporting content looks super smart. But most importantly, it will help and support the many men who are currently suffering in silence. Check it out here: https://www.clinimed.co.uk/mens-bladder-health
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