Men's health program reflects the achievements of reform, innovation, and community practice – Part Two of Zhao Yufeng's report

Not long ago, at the "International Population and Development Forum" held in Wuhan by the National Population and Family Planning Commission, the second major issue in the "China Population and Development National Report," "Reproductive Health and Family Planning," placed "paying attention to and meeting the service needs of different groups such as men, adolescents, and the elderly; and actively promoting the transformation of the thinking and methods of population and family planning work" in an important position. The National Population and Family Planning Commission issues special documents every year regarding the promotion of men's health. In 2004, it issued another document (Population Office Document [2004] No. 79) which determined this year's theme as "Focusing on Men's Health and Improving Quality of Life." It required that the promotion and education work on men's health be carried out in depth. At the same time, it clearly pointed out that "the China Population Culture Promotion Association should continue to summarize and promote the pilot work of men's health community work, so that this activity truly relies on the community, enters families, serves the masses, encourages the vast majority of male citizens to participate in family planning, popularizes scientific knowledge, and builds happy families."

Over the past five years, the work on men's health promotion and education has seen development, changes, and achievements, which can be mainly reflected in the following four aspects:

1. Integrate into broader social outreach efforts, emphasizing service and care.

The themes of "Men's Health Day" have evolved from "Focusing on Men's Health and Encouraging Men's Participation," "Men's Health and Civilized Families," "Husbands' Responsibility in Family Planning," and "Popularizing Scientific Knowledge" to today's "Improving Quality of Life." This evolution has garnered widespread support and approval from the public. Within the broader context of social promotion, the theme is novel, warm, considerate, and natural, brimming with humanistic care. With the gradual promotion of men's health education programs and the positive guidance of public opinion, male citizens' awareness and enthusiasm for participation have undergone significant changes compared to the past. They have moved from being secretive to being open, and from enduring the pain in silence to seeking medical treatment at urology departments. The influence of "Men's Health Day" in society is growing, and the rate of voluntary male participation has increased markedly. This activity has played a positive role in changing the previous phenomenon of "favoring women over men" in family planning work.

2. Awaken men's health awareness and update their health concepts.

The new concept of health encompasses the "perfect unity of physical, mental, and social life." Many men are beginning to pay attention to their own health, realizing that men are also vulnerable and need care just as much as, or even more than, women. After receiving health education and awareness campaigns, men are more willing to confront their own hidden vulnerabilities directly, no longer avoiding them. Health promotion activities are no longer limited to around October 28th; more promotional and service initiatives are permeating daily work, reaching government agencies, factories, schools, military camps (stationed troops), construction sites (migrant workers), and homes.

3. It has inspired men's enthusiasm for voluntarily participating in family planning.

Through public health education, men's knowledge of reproductive health has been enriched, and their awareness of actively participating in family planning has been enhanced. Direct male participation in family planning plays a vital role in improving the health of women and children, preventing and reducing sexually transmitted diseases (including HIV/AIDS), and improving the effectiveness of contraception for women. The content and audience of men's health education have been continuously expanding, extending from disease prevention to social behavior and mental health, and from primarily targeting middle-aged and elderly men to men of all ages. There has been a general increase in male citizens participating in health education activities.

4. Improve the quality of family life and promote family harmony and civility.

The promotion and education activities on men's health in the community have resulted in a large number of civilized families where wives care for their husbands, husbands respect their wives, and actively take responsibility for contraception and family planning. These activities have had a significant effect on establishing scientific, civilized, and progressive concepts of marriage and childbearing, promoting new trends in marriage and childbearing, creating a relaxed and harmonious family atmosphere, and promoting family happiness.

Therefore, we have reason to say that the publicity and education work on family planning, from the "New Marriage and Childbearing Customs Enter Every Household" campaign to the comprehensive rollout of male health publicity and education, which has entered communities and families, is a concrete manifestation of the basic national policy of population and family planning and the population culture cause keeping pace with the times and demonstrating its practical character; it is a social practice activity that implements the important thought of "Three Represents", embodies the guiding ideology of putting people first, emphasizing humanistic care, and centering on the all-round development of people, and promotes the cause of population and family planning.

II. Men's health education must rely on the community.

Five years ago, the Publicity and Education Department of the National Population and Family Planning Commission launched the "New Marriage and Childbearing Customs Entering Thousands of Households" campaign, which proposed the requirements of "relying on communities, facing families, being people-oriented, and being close to the masses." The report of the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China placed community building in an important position, and relying on communities is the starting point for all our work. The work of the pilot communities for male health publicity and education focuses on popularizing scientific knowledge, paying attention to men's health, promoting family happiness, and promoting family civilization, and earnestly providing services to the masses.

The past five years of practice have proven that the men's health promotion and education work in the 144 pilot communities across the country has achieved encouraging results by leveraging their respective strengths, creating local characteristics, expanding service areas, and integrating into community development.

1. Strong leadership, well-organized structure, and effective measures.

Under the leadership of the publicity and education departments of the relevant provincial and municipal family planning commissions, the Party committees and governments of the street-level governments where the communities are located attach great importance to this work. Almost all communities have established leading groups, with the responsible Party and government leaders serving as group leaders and family planning office staff as members. The work is planned, the schedule is arranged, the responsibilities are divided, and the funding is guaranteed. Many communities have also integrated this work into the important content of the community's "two civilizations" creation activities, holding regular meetings to report on the work progress, and including male health publicity and education work in the assessment of the "New Marriage and Childbearing Customs Entering Every Household" activity.

The Beijing Municipal Population and Family Planning Commission has included men's health education as an important part of population and family planning publicity and education, with plans, inspections, exchanges, and summaries. In Jiangsu Province, many city and county-level population and family planning leading groups have established special leadership teams for men's health education, headed by the relevant leaders, with leaders from seven relevant departments (family planning, health, publicity, culture, education, radio and television, and the Youth League) as members, responsible for the organization and implementation of the project. In Chongqing's Yuzhong District, Hebei Province's Dingzhou City, Jiangsu Province's Xuanwu District of Nanjing City, Guangdong Province's Tianhe District of Guangzhou City, and Dalian City's Zhongshan District, to strengthen leadership in men's health education, special leading groups composed of family planning associations, science and technology associations, hospitals, and other relevant departments have been established to guide grassroots communities in developing detailed work plans and provide strong support in terms of human resources, materials, and financial resources. Feicheng City in Shandong Province has also specifically summarized its experience in this area.