Exploring the impact of a large gender-sensitised health promotion program: the Sons of the West program

Evaluation of the outcomes of gender-sensitised programs that target men with poor health behaviours is lacking. The purpose of this study was to provide an understanding of the psychosocial changes related to participation in the Sons of the West (SOTW) men's health promotion program run by the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation.

All men who participated in SOTW during 2017 were asked to complete surveys at the beginning and end of the program. The surveys were quantitative measures of psychological wellbeing (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, K10), social connectedness and loneliness (UCLA Loneliness Scale, UCLA-L), and resilience (Brief Resilience Scale, BRS). In addition, we analysed participants' responses to an offer within the program to provide psychological support to any participant in need. Men were provided with a participant code so that data could be matched at the beginning and end of the program.

A high participation rate (776/1003) was achieved. There were statistically significant improvements in mean K10 scores from pre- (population mean [M] = 17.34; standard deviation [SD] = 6.98) to post-program (M = 14.98; SD = 6.27), and for matched samples (p < 0.001). Matched samples also showed significant improvements in mean UCLA-L scores from pre- (M = 38.58; SD = 10.87) to post-program (M = 37.42; SD = 10.87), and mean BRS scores from pre- (M = 3.44; SD = 0.79) to post-program (M = 3.62; SD = 0.74). Results from the psychological help-seeking question showed that one-third of participants were open to the concept of receiving additional psychological support.

This preliminary data shows that a broad-ranging, gender-sensitised health promotion program can have a significant effect on psychosocial health of male participants. The findings provide insights for future research, and suggest the program has potential for generalisation to other populations.