Harmonization Project: Men's Healthy Eating Active Living (MHEAL)

The MHEAL project began November 2013 and a program (called "POWERPLAY") was developed to support men's active living and healthy eating based on a systematic review of the literature and consultations with groups of men. From 2014-2017 six male-dominated worksites in northern BC offered POWERPLAY and participated in this study. Using a quasi-experimental pre-post design as well as interviews with worksite leads, the program was demonstrated to be an effective, feasible, and acceptable approach to the promotion of modifiable behaviours known to reduce the risk of cancer among working men in northern settings, and several manuscripts were published. Furthermore, the POWERPLAY program was optimized based on feedback received to include friendly competitions, weekly motivational messages, men-friendly language/images, and pedometers, and a manual for employers and website were developed (http://www.powerplayatwork.com/). A new module to support mental well-being was created in 2017 based on a systematic review of the literature for men's mental wellness programs, consultations with men working in northern workplaces, and interviews with workplace representatives. A module to support smoking cessation module was created in 2018.