Generally speaking, men are less likely to visit a general practitioner when they experience health problems, compared to women.

AMSA’s (The Australian Men’s Shed Association) goal is to change that and encourage men to talk about their health issues with medical practitioners, pharmacists and medical specialists.

AMSA is one of Australia’s largest male based development organisations, funded by the Federal Department of Health and described as being and acting as a central hub for information exchange.

AMSA’s main purposes are to encourage men to discuss their healthcare with medical professionals, to offer an adequate platform where men upload their health information and discuss health related topics making it easier for them to remain connected with the medical community and receive accurate health advice from professionals. The great part is that they do not need to remember exact treatment dates, or medication names and dosages.

The Movember foundation is collaborating with AMSA in promoting men’s health and raising awareness.

The Movember Foundation is a charity which addresses men’s health on a global scale. Their focus is on the biggest health issues that many men are facing: prostate cancer, testicular cancer, depression, mental health and suicide prevention.

The founders of the Movember or Mo Bros are 2 Australian men, Travis Garone and Luke Slattery from Melbourne. They came up with the Movember idea while having a beer and discussing the fact that the moustache has been slowly disappearing from men’s fashion trends and what they could do to bring the moustache back. They then found 30 men willing to grow out their moustaches and slowly started to bring the trend back. This was all happening in 2003. Now The Movember Foundation counts 5,541,213 Mo Bros and Mo Sistas and the numbers are going up every day.

In conclusion, tough the Movember Foundation started small, and was known only in Australia, now it has over 5 million members, in 20 countries including UK, USA, Hong Kong, South Africa, Canada, Germany and the Czech Republic.

In 14 years of activity, they have funded over 1,200 men’s health projects, including AMSA, around the world and all of that was achieved by challenging Mo Bros and Mo Sistas to donate and grow their beards in the case of the Mo Bros. Raising awareness about important men’s health issues has helped inform the community about men’s health and wellbeing and encouraged them to seek medical attention and do regular medical checkups, which in turn has significantly improved men’s health and helped prevent medical issues.

They strive to reduce, by 2030, the number of men dying prematurely by 25%.

AMSA and the Movember Foundation aim to encourage men to take action and be one step ahead of their medical issues by keeping them informed, raising awareness about health issues and helping them in seeking the best medical treatment out there. In other words they are doing an amazing job for men in Australia and everywhere around the globe.

Read more about Men’s Health services in our practices.