Three Guarantees and Four Platforms for Men's Health Promotion Services in Feicheng City, Shandong Province

Third, we will provide three guarantees to ensure that articles focusing on men's health are truly effective.

In order to meet the needs of men's health promotion and service work and to truly implement the focus on men's health promotion and service, we have taken a variety of measures to provide strong support for it.

First, there is organizational support. Since my country proposed its first "Men's Health Day" on October 28, 2000, our city has immediately attached great importance to it, holding special meetings to study issues related to men's health promotion and services. Men's health promotion and services have been treated as an important part of population culture construction and the "New Marriage and Childbearing Customs Entering Every Household" campaign. Especially since the Hexi Community of Xincheng Subdistrict in our city was included in the national pilot community for men's health promotion and education project in 2003, the municipal party committee and government have established a special project pilot leading group, set up a men's health promotion and service office, and issued relevant documents such as the "Feicheng City Men's Health Promotion and Education Implementation Plan" and the "Feicheng City Men's Health Promotion and Education Three-Year Work Plan." Townships, towns, and communities have also established corresponding men's health promotion and service leading groups. Relying on the family planning department, each township and community has established a men's health promotion and service office with 3-5 people, forming a tight promotion and service network from top to bottom. This has ensured that men's health promotion and education work is organized and led, and that promotion and service activities are managed and supervised, truly providing reliable organizational support for men's health promotion and education.

Secondly, there is the guarantee of funding. In a market economy, no work can be carried out without financial support. The municipal Party committee and government attach great importance to the promotion and service of men's health, clearly stipulating that 5% of the municipal family planning expenditure be allocated annually as operating expenses for men's health promotion and service, and emphasizing that these funds be used exclusively for this purpose. For large-scale centralized events such as Father's Day and Men's Health Day, the city allocates 80,000 to 100,000 yuan annually for these activities. Townships and communities, despite their own tight budgets, have also formulated corresponding funding guarantee measures to ensure the timely availability and use of promotional funds, thereby guaranteeing the smooth operation of men's health promotion and service activities.

Thirdly, there are institutional guarantees. To ensure that men's health promotion and services are effectively implemented, we have successively formulated and issued a complete set of corresponding rules and regulations, including those for publicity and training, learning and exchange, responsibility targets, and assessment and evaluation. We have incorporated men's health promotion and services into the annual population and family planning target responsibility agreement, closely integrating it with the overall family planning work, implementing a semi-annual assessment and an annual evaluation, and strictly enforcing rewards and punishments. At the same time, we have also made men's health promotion and services an important part of spiritual civilization construction, linking it to the evaluation and commendation of rural areas. We have clearly stipulated that villages that do not carry out men's health promotion and services well, or whose effects are not obvious, cannot receive titles such as "Civilized Village" or "Advanced Village" or "Model Village" in family planning, and their main leaders cannot be rated as advanced individuals at the city or township level. The formulation of these systems has effectively promoted the in-depth development of men's health promotion and service activities throughout the city.

IV. Make good use of the four major platforms to produce high-quality articles focusing on men's health.

To effectively carry out men's health promotion and service work, and truly make the most of men's health initiatives, we actively utilize four major platforms: "Community Men's Health Service Centers," "Municipal and Township Family Planning Service Stations," "Municipal and Township Health Centers," and "Rural Population and Cultural Centers and Population Schools." First, we consistently leverage the "Community Men's Health Service Center" platform. By relying on the community and collaborating with multiple parties, we focus on health and encourage participation, bringing men's health promotion and services closer to the people and into their homes. The community is where people live, closest to and most intimately connected with them; effectively utilizing the Community Men's Health Service Center is a reliable guarantee for effective community men's health promotion and service. In our specific work, we fully utilize the locational advantages of the Community Men's Health Service Center, using this platform to answer questions, resolve concerns, and address difficulties for community residents, undertaking the important responsibility of men's health promotion, consultation, and services. Since 2003, we have also established a volunteer service team focused on men's health, using weekends and spare time to conduct door-to-door promotion and service, which has been widely welcomed by residents. Secondly, we should make good use of the "municipal and township family planning service stations." Leveraging the expertise of family planning technicians, we should establish male health consultation clinics and male health technical service departments to provide health consultations and address health issues for male citizens. The municipal family planning service station is the leading institution for family planning technical services in the city. To effectively leverage its role and promote development in both urban and rural areas, since 2003, the municipal family planning station has invested over 1 million yuan to purchase advanced equipment such as infertility diagnostic and treatment instruments, automatic semen analyzers, fully automatic electrocardiographs, and imported French automatic blood analyzers, laying the foundation for male health check-up services. Thirdly, we should make good use of the "municipal and township health centers." Utilizing the technical expertise of municipal and township medical departments, we should establish male reproductive health clinics and male health wards to support the city's male health promotion and service efforts, diagnose and treat male health diseases, and address male health technical challenges. Fourth, make good use of the "rural population culture courtyards and population schools" as a platform to highlight the cultural characteristics and quality of men's health education, organize regular men's health education and training, and carry out some men's health cultural and recreational activities that are popular with the masses, so that everyone can be educated and inspired in an entertaining way, thereby improving the self-care awareness and active participation of the general public of men, and effectively promoting the development of men's health education.

V. Some Insights

Since the establishment of my country's first "Men's Health Day" on October 28, 2000, to the continuous and in-depth development of men's health promotion and service activities, our city has experienced a process from unfamiliarity to awareness, and from general appeals to gradual implementation. Through the joint efforts of all levels, we have achieved remarkable results in men's health promotion and education, and our main experiences are as follows:

First, concerted efforts are the prerequisite for effective men's health education. Focusing on men's health and conducting effective education is a comprehensive social project that cannot be accomplished by a single department. To effectively promote men's health education, we must foster a spirit of unity and cooperation, working together as a unified force. Therefore, in our work on men's health education, we emphasize the collaborative capabilities of all levels of relevant departments, coordinating with departments such as publicity, health, culture, education, civil affairs, trade unions, women's federations, and youth leagues to jointly participate in men's health education, jointly formulate plans, and jointly implement educational initiatives. The publicity department has established programs on radio and television specifically to promote men's health knowledge; the education department has established dedicated courses on men's health and puberty health education in primary and secondary schools; the women's federation has launched activities such as "Caring for Husbands' Health, Creating a Happy Life" and "How to Be a Good Wife" among women throughout the city; and the cultural department has leveraged its artistic talents, employing various forms such as drama, skits, storytelling, and song and dance to promote men's health. Through close cooperation among all levels of government and relevant departments, the city's men's health promotion and education campaign was carried out in a vigorous and effective manner.

Secondly, male participation is the foundation for effective men's health education and promotion. Focusing on men's health and encouraging their participation is not easy. Due to the influence of traditional ideas, especially regarding male reproductive health, it is often considered a taboo subject, leading to reluctance to participate or confront it. Recent work experience has made us deeply aware that to awaken men's genuine social participation, we must update our perspectives, dare to understand and face themselves, and recognize the importance and responsibility of men's health from the perspectives of society and family. Therefore, we first start with promoting men's health knowledge, utilizing radio, television, bulletin boards, informational leaflets, and cultural programs to ensure that men's health knowledge is widely known and understood. Secondly, we focus on addressing the practical problems and difficulties that men themselves hope to solve, putting ourselves in their shoes, guiding them with correct and scientific knowledge, befriending them, and becoming their confidants. This helps them move from being reluctant to speak out to being willing to accept information, from murmuring their concerns to boldly seeking expert advice, and actively, proactively, and courageously participating in our activities. A self-employed man surnamed Liu in Hexi Community, suffering from prostatitis, initially thought he had contracted a sexually transmitted disease and became depressed. Later, after consulting with the community's men's health service center, he learned that prostatitis is a common male disease, which dispelled his doubts. With the center's meticulous treatment, he quickly recovered and regained his former smile.

Third, high-quality service is the guarantee for doing a good job in focusing on men's health. The public is annoyed by formalities, but seeks tangible benefits and expects quality service. The practice of men's health promotion and service tells us that focusing on men's health is both an extension of family planning work and a beneficial social service, involving every resident and every family. As long as we sincerely consider their needs and genuinely serve them, we will gain the support of the masses and the understanding of society. In our specific work, we insist on carrying out regular "two visits to villages (communities) and three visits to homes" service activities, consistently placing men's health promotion boards in villages, bringing men's health technical service vehicles to villages, conducting men's health surveys in homes, delivering men's health knowledge to homes, and providing problem-solving services to homes. We have also set up eight automatic condom vending machines in major public places such as urban parks, hotels, development zones, and the commercial world, which have played a significant role in facilitating people's lives and protecting men's health, given the large floating population in the new urban community. Through these effective activities and solid services, we have effectively protected men's health and promoted the overall improvement of population and family planning work.