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It’s that time of year again! The streets will be full of men sporting moustaches of all shapes, sizes and colours in support of one of the most recognisable health campaigns, Movember. You in the pharmacy can remind customers that growing a moustache is not the only way to raise awareness for this cause. There are also plenty of other health campaigns taking place in November, two of which we also cover for you here; Carer’s Rights Day and National Self Care Week. Both are extremely important campaigns when looking at the state of healthcare in the UK.
Moving into Movember
Movember – Men’s Health Awareness Month – is one of the most well-known health campaigns globally, and each year encourages a myriad of men to grow a moustache to raise awareness for men’s health, amongst other exercises. The charity is mainly concerned with four aspects of men’s health; mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer, and advocates for public action to drive change. “Almost two in five of men living in the UK die prematurely. These deaths are mostly preventable,” says the Movember webpage. To get involved with Movember, encourage customers (and pharmacy team members alike!) to:
- Grow a moustache: this is one of the most successful eays to raise awareness (and funds) for Movember
- Move for mental health: Walk or run 60km throughout the month of November to raise funds and awareness in memory of the 60 men who are lost to suicide globally, every hour
- Host a Mo-ment: Plan an event to raise funds and awareness
- Mo your own way: You can decide on any activity – climb a mountain, break a personal best – to raise funds
- Fundraise at work.
There are guidelines and resources on how to embark on any of these challenges at Movember. Anyone can sign up to be a part of the community, and anyone can donate to the charity at any time.
Recognising rights
Carer’s Rights Day 2024 is on Thursday, 21 November, and centres around raising awareness for the rights of the 5.7 million unpaid carers in the UK. Of course, there are paid carers, but there are millions of people who become unpaid carers when their loved ones, friends or family become ill, and they step in to provide support. The theme for 2024 is Recognising your Rights, a theme which hopes to get carers to realise and understand their rights, and to access the support available to them.
As carers are often already working, have responsibilities of their own outside of caring, or may no longer be working, caring can present a significant challenge. The pharmacy team will undoubtedly interact with many unpaid carers who come to collect medicines, ask for advice on behalf of those they are caring for, or even bring in this person to receive services at the pharmacy. It is, therefore, a perfect place to raise awareness for carers and Carers Rights Day, either by informing them of the resources available to them, checking in with them, or pointing them in the direction of the CarersUK website, where they can find information on their rights. The pharmacy team can make use of free resources available from at Carers UK to put up in the pharmacy and start the conversation.
Spotlighting self care
National Self Care Week is taking place this year from 18-24 November. The theme, ‘Mind & Body,’ is chosen by the Self Care Forum (SCF), and highlights that self care can relate to both your physical and mental health. Defined as ‘the actions that individuals take for themselves, on behalf of and with others in order to develop, protect, maintain and improve their health, wellbeing or wellness,’ by the SCF, self care is a pivotal aspect of healthcare. Many people may always default to over-the-counter medicines, doctor’s appointments and even sometimes visiting A&E, when they could be treating themselves with self care knowledge. Of course, there are instances where self care does not suffice, but there are many cases for which good self care can prevent, treat or ease conditions and/or injuries. Self care has recently been recognised as means by which to reduce the amount of time and resources spent by the NHS and as a cornerstone of primary care in the UK.
Pharmacy teams can raise awareness for the potential of self care through every day conversations with customers, always reminding them of the self care options available to them. Pharmacy teams can also remind people that maintaining a healthy lifestyle is a crucial form of self care. Encourage customers to quit smoking, take regular exercise, limit alcohol use, eat a healthy, well-rounded diet and make use of supplements to fill in nutritional gaps. For more information of self care, best tips and practices or more resources for Self Care Week, visit The Self Care Forum.