As a rising college senior studying Public Health with a concentration in Women's Health, I find myself researching a wide range of women's health issues: sex education, HPV, cervical cancer, breast cancer, pregnancy, menopause, birth control and much more. In fact, I could probably discuss the HPV vaccine controversies in my sleep! I believe that educating women about their health is a form of women's empowerment. So, when I set out to write my first blog post as an intern for Spectrum, I assumed it would be about one of the women's health issues described above; however, this post is in honor of the opposite sex - men.
This week is Men's Health Week. As a public health advocate, I appreciate that men take a vested interest in monitoring their health. National Men's Health Week was created to advocate and educate people about early detection and treatment of diseases that affect men and boys. Those supporting Men's Health Week sport the color blue to spread the knowledge about this important week to health care providers, policy makers, the media and individuals like myself. Much like National Women's Health Week, it isn't just a "woman's" issue or "men's" issue - health issues of men and women affect everyone.
If there's anything that a public health student knows, it's that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." So, as we approach Father's Day this weekend, I encourage you to wear blue and speak out about men's health issues not only this week, but during the remainder of the year.
You can find more information about National Men's Health Week here.




