Men typically die younger than women and are notoriously less likely to seek health support. Addressing this issue, the UK is considering a new approach that could enhance healthcare outcomes for men.
Imagine a scene from last month: the men’s team of Brighton & Hove Albion FC were celebrating a 2-1 victory against Tottenham Hotspur at a British Premier League match. Dean Gallagher, a former insurance broker and a dedicated fan of Albion since 1973, was invited onto the pitch. A passionate volunteer for the Samaritans suicide prevention charity, Gallagher seized this opportunity to reach out to the crowd of thousands, preaching the importance of talking about suicide openly.
Recent statistics reveal that men in England and Wales constituted around three-quarters of suicide deaths registered in 2024, a consistent trend over the years. The suicide rate among men in their early 50s is more than twice the national average. To address this alarming trend, the Premier League and its 20 clubs have joined forces with the Samaritans to raise awareness among the millions of British football fans. Starting this year, 11 of these clubs, including Brighton, have begun giving fans the chance to converse with trained listeners and connect with support on home match days.
This effort is part of the league’s ‘Together Against Suicide’ campaign, currently being piloted by the 11 clubs. According to Nick Perchard, director of community for the Premier League, they are committed to the long haul. He remarks, “If we have one person who takes advantage of that matchday support, and if it leads to them still being here in 12 months’ time when they wouldn’t otherwise have been, then that has to be a success.”
This innovative drive is one of several health initiatives across the UK aiming to meet men where they are. From football clubs to barbershops, these initiatives are working within communities to provide solutions to a shared problem – reaching out to men who often die earlier than women. Men also disproportionately suffer from risks including certain types of cancer, suicide, and premature death from heart disease.
Among these initiatives is an intriguing drive to use barbershops as points of contact for health checkups. In the south London barbershop, Jul’s The Hair Klinik, barber Julian Appiah-Koduah goes beyond just giving haircuts to his customers. Having high blood pressure, or hypertension, is the leading risk for death from heart disease in England. Considering this, Appiah-Koduah and several other barbers across south London are now trained to test their customers’ blood pressure. If high levels go untreated, they can lead to heart attacks, strokes, and kidney disease.
When kidney nurse and LSBU professor Nicola Thomas heard about a similar project in Los Angeles where barbers were trained to spot high blood pressure, she was eager to start a similar initiative in south London. The project was led by London South Bank University (LSBU) and local charity Croydon BME Forum to address the issue.
Similar projects are also being conducted elsewhere in the UK, such as Barnsley, a former mining town in Yorkshire. Here, a local barber Tony Batty has personal experience of the impacts of high blood pressure. After neglecting initial warnings about his high blood pressure, Batty suffered kidney failure. He now urges all men to get their blood pressure checked regularly.
Desta Pinks, a project manager for the BME Forum, believes in the potential of barbershops as hubs of health information. Pinks asserts, “A man might go into a barbershop every week – how often does he see a GP? You trust a man to use a razor under your neck, so what does it require to go to the next level and agree to a quick blood pressure check?”
