Promoting men's wellbeing: Integrated services for responding to men's depression in community health

Abstract

Men's health issues and depression have both been identified as key priorities in health policy in Australia. A community health service in Melbourne has developed and delivered an integrated and holistic series of interventions specifically targeting depression in men, in addition to individual counselling services. These include a psycho-educational group program, an ongoing therapeutic and support group, and walking and gym exercise activities. Levels of participation, and outcomes, indicate that this type of package of services can be a highly successful way for community health services to respond to issues relating to men's health and wellbeing.