Reaching at-risk rural men: An evaluation of a health promotion activity targeting men at a large agricultural event

Issue addressed: This paper evaluates the effectiveness of an Australian Men's Shed Association's ‘Spanner in the Works?’ health promotion tent in reaching at‐risk rural men during a large agricultural event in rural Australia.
Methods: Men who self‐presented to the health promotion tent had basic health measurements and risk scores recorded. These were linked to a short survey asking about their primary health care engagement. To determine the ‘reach’ afforded to health professionals through their presence at the agricultural event, the mean systolic blood pressure and waist circumference measures of participants were compared to those of rural men nationally using the ABS' National Health Survey 2017‐2018 Basic Confidentialised Unit Record File (CURF).
Results: Of the 401 men who visited the health promotion tent, 346 (86.3%) consented to participate in the study. The median age of participating men was 56 years. The majority (94.0%) were from rural areas. Of participating men, 58.9% had high blood pressure, and their mean systolic blood pressure was significantly higher than that of rural men nationally: both overall (Mean difference = 15.37 mm Hg), and at all age groups. Participants also had significantly higher waist circumference overall (Mean difference = 2.06 cm), but this was only significantly different for the 45‐54 age group. Conclusions: The ‘Spanner in the Works?’ initiative was effective in reaching both healthy and at‐risk rural men from a range of ages.
So what? Aligned with the National Men's Heath Strategy 2020‐2030, this evidences that agricultural events are an effective social setting for the provision of health promotion to ‘at risk’ rural men.