The US state of Oklahoma has a proud pioneer heritage which has served it well through at least two oil booms and busts, droughts, tornados and even a bombing in the heart of the capital city in 1995. Each time our citizens have regrouped, rebuilt and recovered. However, that same stubborn spirit has contributed to Oklahoma ranking at or near the bottom in almost every US health statistic. That “I am the master of my fate” attitude is one reason we smoke more, eat poorly (fried Twinkies are one of the mainstays at our annual State Fair), refuse to pass motorcycle helmet laws and the list goes on. Couple these issues with poverty (1 in 5 children is in poverty), poor access to health, high percentages of Oklahomans that are uninsured and low rates of physical activity and you have a state in crisis.

Historically, healthcare has had a “let them come to us” approach. Recognizing the limitations of this approach, not-for-profit corporation INTEGRIS Health formed a Community Health Improvement Department for the sole purpose of changing the health status of the people of Oklahoma. Many successful programs were launched but the health of our men continued to lag behind. We needed a creative program that would educate men on their unique health risks along with screenings and treatment. In 2004, the INTEGRIS Men’s Health University (Men-U) was born, complete with logo and t-shirts.

Our overall goal was to focus specifically on delivering health improvement for men in a non-threatening manner, partnering with traditionally male-friendly businesses and media and using humor to engage men with health issues. We adopted the approach of delivering health promotion events tied in with traditionally male-friendly activities such as car shows, grilling competitions and sports.

The specific aims of the project were:

When it became apparent that men were not responding to traditional ways of delivering health information and screenings, a core group of men was brought together to think “out of the box” and brainstorm ideas for delivering male-friendly and male-focused health promotion. The INTEGRIS Men’s Health University was created to put these ideas into practice, with an internal committee encompassing a wide range of departments, including our Heart Hospital, Cancer Center and Corporate Communications involved in delivering health events.

We recruited local nursing schools to help with the provision of health screenings and partnered with local colleges and malls to host health events.