Men's Health Forum Mini Manuals

Top quality men's health publications tailored to your needs and your budget ...

Mini Manuals are 16 or 32 page A5 health information guides written and produced by the MHF - available off the shelf or customised to suit your needs. Over 100 different manauls have already been created.

Produced by the MHF in partnership with a corporate or public authority sponsor, the content is impartial and authoritative and provides information for men about a range of health issues that affect their every day lives.

Mini Manuals have already been used by a variety of organisations — public health bodies, multinationals, corporations, government bodies and other health related agencies. Staff health information, customer promotions and local public health campaigns are just a few examples of some of the uses the manuals have been put to in the last year. The MHF has now produced over 100 different mini manuals, all of which are listed at the link below:

Mini manuals List of mini manual subjects

In total over 1,300,000 mini manuals have been printed, making these health promotion resources the leading male specific leaflets in England and Wales. Mini-manuals are based on the acclaimed MHF Health Manuals also produced in association with Haynes.

Who writes the manuals?

The author and editor of the manuals is Dr Ian Banks, president of the Men's Health Forum in both the UK and Europe and former editor of the Men's Health Journal and the UEMO Clinical Journal.

While working part-time as a family doctor and casualty officer in Belfast, he also represents GPs for the British Medical Association, is a member of Council for the UK and is the BMA's official spokesperson on men's health. Ian is a trustee for the Doctor Patient Partnership and chairman of the Consumer Health Information Campaign. Ian also founded the Men's Health Forum Ireland and for six years was the medical editor of Men's Health magazine. In addition to this he has also published many other books on health and health issues.

How are they produced?

The Manuals are composed and printed by our publishing partners Haynes Publishing at their Yeovil plant. Variations in manual pagination and from the recommended paper and production methods are available and would require a review of the costs.

Haynes Publishing was founded in 1960, and last year sold over 1 million of its eponymous manuals in the UK alone. There are around 300 UK car manuals in print at present with 130 plus UK motorcycle manual titles — with equivalent ranges Europe and the USA with offices in the UK and USA

Alongside their motor manuals, Haynes also publish a huge variety of books on many other subjects including health matters in partnership with the Men's Health Forum written by Dr Ian Banks. Recent publications include HGV Manual, Man, Baby, Brain, Cancer, Sex and Woman.

What subjects are available?

Content can be used from existing published manuals (such as HGV , Man, Baby, Brain, Cancer and Sex). Examples already [published include Cancer, Smoking, Sexual Health, General Man matters, HGV, Brain and mental health issues, plus we have written specialist manuals for campaigns in specific geographical areas, and even for specialised medical conditions. We can cater for any specific requirements including languages.

What branding is available?

This depends entirely on what kind of campaign you want to run — traditionally we provide space on the covers for a logo although there are other options available including packaging, inserts and space for copy explaining the involvement of the co-sponsor.

What do sponsors need to supply?

This depends on your requirements but if the copy is already available then all we need to do is work with you to provide material that has been adjusted to fit in with your campaign whether that is regional adjustments, language translations (we recently produced a mini manual in Welsh).

What is the cost?

Cost depends on how many pages are printed and what the subject matter is. Typically we print either in 16 or 32 pages and have a sliding scale of unit cost based on size of print runs

In addition if subject matter has to be substantially re-written by us or created from scratch then a premium will be added to the cost based on the volume of copy required. Contact us for more information. Included in these guide costs - non-contractual - are all production and printing charges.

What are the benefits?

Men's Health Forum Mini Manuals provide a gender specific health promotion vehicle, written by respected doctor and writer Dr Ian Banks.
The Manuals are produced by The Men's Health Forum, the UK's leading independent charity working to improve male health and health provision in partnership with Haynes Publishing and contain easily accessible and uniquely presented health information covering a range of subjects relating to men's health issues.
Mini Manuals can be produced using bespoke content covering any specific area as required giving flexibility in subject matter — it all depends on what specific promotional campaign a sponsor wants to fit it into.
Mini Manuals are extremely costs efficient — producing the same calibre of content in the timescales required would be very difficult and cost upwards of double what we would charge. Because much of the content for these manuals is already written it means that time and money is saved. Add to that the high calibre of writing and research and you have an excellent and cost-effective promotional vehicle.
Mini manuals offer major branding opportunities for companies working in the health sector as well as providing a great way of fulfilling legal obligations, providing staff or customer information on a gender specific basis for both for internal and external marketing campaigns.
Mini Manuals are available for any men's health related issues and a great way of promoting a brand, activity or as part of a wider health related campaign.
Mini manuals will also be available as a PDF download version — clients will be able to provide a link or specific URL where extracts from the manuals they have sponsored can be downloaded.

Some recent feedback about the Haynes Cancer manual: