Haringey Man MOT is an MHF project run in partnership with Haringey Council, the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation and others to provide an online health advice service designed by and for men in the borough.
What is Man MOT?
Man MOT is a free, confidential online health advice service through which men can ‘chat’ directly to a GP (or other health professional) about any health problem at all via a computer, tablet or smart phone. No appointment needed.
The MHF has trialled the basic Man MOT concept and are now refining it by working on its design and delivery with the men of one borough - Haringey.
The first phase involved setting up the structures to deliver the project and researching what men in Haringey want:
- how do Haringey men currently access health services
- how do they use technology
- how would they like to access health care using technology in the future.
So far, we've published:
- Men’s Health-seeking Behaviour and Use of the Internet (a review of the literature)
- Haringey Men’s Health Intelligence Data 2013 (collated Haringey data)
- Haringey Street Survey Results and Analysis 2014 (our street survey)
- No Frills - Qualitative research into men, health, the internet and Man MOT (our interviews and focus groups)
- No Frills presentation to Leeds Met University's 'Men, Health and Wellbeing' conference, July 2014
You might also be interested in the Haringey social marketing research: Men unaware of preventative services
I live in Haringey. How can I help?
We're still looking for Haringey men of all ages and all backgrounds to help in many different ways including publicity (very important), testing and feedback on the service. If you'd like to help, contact us.
I'm a health professional. How do I get involved?
Man MOT will enable men to 'chat' directly to you online. All the health professional needs is a computer. No surgery, no (missed) appointments, no needless visits to A&E, it's so much easier for everyone.
If you're a GP or any other sort of health professional at all (fitness coach, nutritionist, counsellor, sex therapist, alcohol advisor, smoking cessation advisor, physio etc etc) we want to hear from you. You can help on the other side of the screen by 'chatting' to men and/or by advising on how we can improve and develop the service.
If you'd like to know more, contact us.
Who is the team behind Haringey Man MOT?
In October 2014, Tracy Herd, formerly Healthier Communities Programme Manager at the Royal Borough of Greenwich, joined the team as project manager.
She joins Men's Health Forum CEO Martin Tod, the Forum's editorial and creative consultant Jim Pollard and Dr Vanessa Bogle.
Jim's a health journalist, editor of the MHF websiteand author of several health books including the acclaimed User's Guide to the Male Body.
Few know health in Haringey as well as Vanessa, who is leading on the research. From 2005-2013, she was Senior Public Health Commissioning Strategist for the London Borough of Haringey. She is a Visiting Lecturer on various MSc Health Psychology programmes and is a research supervisor on the MSc and Doctorate Health Psychology programmes at City University.
Thanks also to Peter Tickle, who played a key role in the initial setting up and rolling out of Haringey Man MOT. Formerly, the Health & Wellbeing Senior Development Officer at the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation (THF) from which he was seconded to Man MOT, Peter moved to Manchester City in summer 2014 to become Health and Education Manager. We continue to partner with Spurs through the THF's excellent Health & Wellbeing Manager Maria Abraham.
How will the service be developed?
The MHF team will work with local men, health professionals, Haringey health champions and other partners to design what we hope could be a one-stop shop which is more accessible to Haringey men than existing services and which will improve disease prevention, early intervention and local signposting.
With Man MOT, Haringey is pioneering a new way of doing health: a way that's a lot easier for patient and health professionals alike.
The service launched in Haringey in April 2014. Our key challenges for 2014-15 are raising awareness among Haringey men and developing new partnerships in new localities.
In a few years time we'll be thinking that health care had always been this way.
How do I keep up to date with the project?
- Access the service here: menshealthforum.org.uk/haringey
- Subscribe to our newsletter
- Follow us on Twitter @ManMOTUK
We want to hear from everyone - health professionals, academics, anyone at all who thinks they might have something to offer this innovative new approach to health care and most of all from the men of Haringey.
Credits
- Thanks to everyone who has already helped on Man MOT including Diabetes UK, Family Planning Association, HEART UK, National Obesity Forum, Relate, the Sexual Advice Association and its original owners Pfizer.
- Thanks to Duncan for the image used in our flyers.
