- Email: [email protected]
eHealth Innovation
Update
e-Health Innovation Everyman (http://www.icr.ac.uk/everyman/)
Target audience:
Commentary:
‘Everyman’ targets anyone interested in male cancers. ‘Keep Your Eye on The Ball’, on the other hand, targets football (soccer, in North America) players and fans. Football is the most popular team sport in the world. According to a survey conducted by Fe´de´ration Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), over 240 million people regularly play football in more than 200 countries around the world [1].
Despite a dramatic increase in the incidence of prostate and testicular cancer, men’s levels of awareness of these diseases remains very low [2]. The dearth of common basic knowledge of the male public on testicular and prostate cancer is also abysmal [3-4]. ‘Everyman’ and ‘Keep Your Eye on the Ball’ exemplify how the Internet could be used to overcome these problems. These sites also illustrate how the Internet could be used to improve funding for research on men’s health. At the time when this review was produced, for instance, both campaign websites reported that they had raised £750,000 in 2004 alone. The strategy of ‘Keep Your Eye on the Ball’ to harness men’s passion for sports as a vehicle to learn about their health is intriguing. It would be very important to assess the value of this innovative feature, as well as to explore its impact using other sports. It is innovations such as this that may help us engage those who are currently excluded by most efforts to promote men’s health in the age of the Internet.
Purpose:
Track record:
‘Everyman’ is a campaign created by the United Kingdom’s Institute of Cancer Research as part of its efforts to raise awareness and funding for male-specific cancers. ‘Keep Your Eye on The Ball’ (http:// www.keepyoureyeontheball.org/), a spinoff campaign website led by the UK’s Football Association and Professional Footballers Association, mainly focuses on testicular cancer, using an attractive design, provocative and creative images, and links to verifiable cancer information. Both websites present fact sheets on prostate and testicular cancer, a section for frequently asked questions about these diseases, up-to-date research news, and links to high quality information on the Internet related to male cancers.
‘Everyman’ was launched in 1997 and is now part of the Everyman Centre, the UK’s first dedicated facility to conduct research into male cancer (opened in November 2000). The Centre carries out research on gene isolation, dietary factors, hereditary risks, and the development of effective treatments with fewer adverse effects and better survival rates. The £3.2 million construction was funded by donations from the public, as well as companies, trusts and foundations. In the last year ‘Everyman’ and ‘Keep Your Eye on The Ball’ have received an average of 500,000 hits a month. Contact information [email protected]
Carlos Rizo MD, PhD (candidate) [email protected]
References [1] Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Football_(soccer). [2] O’brien R, Hunt K, Hart G. It’s caveman stuff, but that is to a certain extent how guys still operate’: men’s accounts of masculinity and help seeking. Soc Sci Med 2005;61:503–16 [Medlme].
[3] Katz RC, Meyers K, Walls J. Cancer awareness and self-examination practices in young men and women. Behav Med 1995;18:377–84 [Medline]. [4] Dolan A, Staples V, Summer S, Hundt GL. ‘You ain’t going to say. . .I’ve got a problem down there’: workplace-based
prostate health promotion with men. Health Educ Res: 2005 [Epub ahead of print] [Medline].
‘‘Section Editor: Alejandro (Alex) R. Jadad, MD, DPhil, Director, Centre for Global eHealth Innovation, Canada Research Chair in eHealth Innovation University of Toronto, Canada Email: [email protected]’’.
Vol. 2, No. 4, p. 443, December 2005
443
e-Health Innovation Everyman (http://www.icr.ac.uk/everyman/)
Target audience:
Commentary:
‘Everyman’ targets anyone interested in male cancers. ‘Keep Your Eye on The Ball’, on the other hand, targets football (soccer, in North America) players and fans. Football is the most popular team sport in the world. According to a survey conducted by Fe´de´ration Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), over 240 million people regularly play football in more than 200 countries around the world [1].
Despite a dramatic increase in the incidence of prostate and testicular cancer, men’s levels of awareness of these diseases remains very low [2]. The dearth of common basic knowledge of the male public on testicular and prostate cancer is also abysmal [3-4]. ‘Everyman’ and ‘Keep Your Eye on the Ball’ exemplify how the Internet could be used to overcome these problems. These sites also illustrate how the Internet could be used to improve funding for research on men’s health. At the time when this review was produced, for instance, both campaign websites reported that they had raised £750,000 in 2004 alone. The strategy of ‘Keep Your Eye on the Ball’ to harness men’s passion for sports as a vehicle to learn about their health is intriguing. It would be very important to assess the value of this innovative feature, as well as to explore its impact using other sports. It is innovations such as this that may help us engage those who are currently excluded by most efforts to promote men’s health in the age of the Internet.
Purpose:
Track record:
‘Everyman’ is a campaign created by the United Kingdom’s Institute of Cancer Research as part of its efforts to raise awareness and funding for male-specific cancers. ‘Keep Your Eye on The Ball’ (http:// www.keepyoureyeontheball.org/), a spinoff campaign website led by the UK’s Football Association and Professional Footballers Association, mainly focuses on testicular cancer, using an attractive design, provocative and creative images, and links to verifiable cancer information. Both websites present fact sheets on prostate and testicular cancer, a section for frequently asked questions about these diseases, up-to-date research news, and links to high quality information on the Internet related to male cancers.
‘Everyman’ was launched in 1997 and is now part of the Everyman Centre, the UK’s first dedicated facility to conduct research into male cancer (opened in November 2000). The Centre carries out research on gene isolation, dietary factors, hereditary risks, and the development of effective treatments with fewer adverse effects and better survival rates. The £3.2 million construction was funded by donations from the public, as well as companies, trusts and foundations. In the last year ‘Everyman’ and ‘Keep Your Eye on The Ball’ have received an average of 500,000 hits a month. Contact information [email protected]
Carlos Rizo MD, PhD (candidate) [email protected]
References [1] Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Football_(soccer). [2] O’brien R, Hunt K, Hart G. It’s caveman stuff, but that is to a certain extent how guys still operate’: men’s accounts of masculinity and help seeking. Soc Sci Med 2005;61:503–16 [Medlme].
[3] Katz RC, Meyers K, Walls J. Cancer awareness and self-examination practices in young men and women. Behav Med 1995;18:377–84 [Medline]. [4] Dolan A, Staples V, Summer S, Hundt GL. ‘You ain’t going to say. . .I’ve got a problem down there’: workplace-based
prostate health promotion with men. Health Educ Res: 2005 [Epub ahead of print] [Medline].
‘‘Section Editor: Alejandro (Alex) R. Jadad, MD, DPhil, Director, Centre for Global eHealth Innovation, Canada Research Chair in eHealth Innovation University of Toronto, Canada Email: [email protected]’’.
Vol. 2, No. 4, p. 443, December 2005
443