Health Awareness Days in November

In this third edition of Nutrition & Wellbeing at Work, we are looking at health awareness days for this month and how to support them in your organisation.

What is going on in November?

Here are a few of the key health awareness dates going on this month:

November is also known as Movember

While the challenge of growing a moustache for the month of November creates a conversation point, the issues that this global movement really want us to discuss include men's mental health, suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer. Globally, more than 10.8 million men are living with or beyond prostate cancer and testicular cancer is the most common cancer for boys and men aged 15-39. To find out how to raise awareness for these and do more to protect mens' mental health, you can visit the Movember website here.

International Stress Awareness Week 4th to 8th November

While a little stress can motivate us and spur us on to get things done, too much and unmanaged stress can cause mental and physical ill health. This is detrimental not only to individuals, but their family, friends and colleagues. In the workplace this can reduce productivity, increase absenteeism and affect working relationships. You can read about some tips to lower stress levels in my blog here. Or head over to the ISMA website to find out more. At Victoria Bell Nutrition we offer a range of services to promote mental wellbeing and reduce stress in the workplace.

Malnutrition Awareness Week 11th to 17th November

In the UK, there is huge disparity between areas where good quality food is abundant and people have the financial means to buy it, and more deprived areas where people may not have the same access to nourishing foods. The term "food desert" describes areas where low-income individuals and families are not able to easily access supermarkets and are left reliant on smaller convenience stores with inflated prices. There are many other reasons for malnutrition such as poor mental health, unmanaged eating disorders and certain illnesses. You can find out more about how to spot the signs of malnutrition and what can be done here.

National Self Care Week 18th to 24th November

This awareness week encourages us to consider phyical and mental wellbeing across families, generations and communities. In 2023, approximately 1000 organisations and individuals raised awareness to their audiences for this week, reaching millions of people. Some of the acts of self care include taking care of health matters, good nutrition, physical activity and helpful habits, interacting with your community and gaining support. You can find out more about how to promote self care here.

World COPD Day 20th of November

COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) causes narrowing of the airways, most often due to exposure to smoke, fumes, chemicals or dust over a long period of time. The effects can cause shortness of breath and wheezing, a chesty cough and chest infections. This year's campaign theme is "Know Your Lung Function", aiming to share the importance of measuring lung function via a testing method called spirometry. You can use awareness resources from this website.

Bringing health awareness into the workplace

Here are some ways that employers can get involved and have a positive influence not just on the wellbeing of their employees, but on productivity and business success:

• Celebrate specific health awareness dates as events. To make events successful, key considerations include communicating why you have selected certain topics, being thorough in your research and delivering high quality education and support.
• Send a regular health-related newsletter to your employees with up to date information on health awareness days and educational content.
• Hold regular health talks or workshops. These can follow the lead of health awareness dates and by planning ahead you can schedule these in advance to deliver these events when they are most topical. Your organisation can also share related content and demostrate to your customers and potential future employees how you support the health of your staff.
• Provide health checks and bring medical practitioners into the workplace. Offering blood pressure checks, spinal assessments or free vitamin D status tests to your team can help them to take targeted steps to protect their own health and may ensure they get the right medical help much sooner than they would have.
• Involve your staff in fundraising for a relevant charity. Participating in charitable causes not only benefits your staff by helping them to make a meaningful contribution to society, but can also play a part in team building and engagement with the community. Businesses also have huge potential to raise vital income for charities and to raise awareness to the public for those charities too.

If you have questions about how we can support your organisation or to make plans for your 2025 Q1 or Q2 wellbeing projects, you can book in an enquiry session here or contact us at [email protected].