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

To assess the feasibility of offering health promotion and preventive medicine initiatives in primary care.

A pilot study aimed at men in general practice to establish the uptake, acceptability and effectiveness of interventions in health initiatives.

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.

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.

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.