Feasibility of a men's health promotion programme in Irish primary care

Background: To assess the feasibility of offering health promotion and preventive medicine initiatives in primary care. Aims: A pilot study aimed at men in general practice to establish the uptake, acceptability and effectiveness of interventions in health initiatives. Methods: One thousand men aged 18-65 were selected at random from five general practices in the Western Health Board area. Practices were randomly allocated to one of four brief interventions: cardiovascular screening, cancer screening, stress management or general lifestyle advice. Results: Fifty-five per cent of men responded, with 35.7% actually attending. There were minor but significant short-term changes in health status and behaviours. Participants expressed high levels of satisfaction, but tended to prefer interventions with an explicit clinical component. Conclusion: It is at least as feasible to offer health promotion for men in primary care as it is for other demographic groups, but adequate training and resources are required.