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THE LAST WORD

February/March 2012 www.esb.ie/em

A TIME FOR GOOD HEALTH

The simplest things can improve our overall health and wellbeing, Dr. Mark Rowe tells EM.

The idea of a newsletter produced by doctors with the aim of keeping people out of the doctor’s surgery may appear a little unusual but it is a reality in the form of The Good Health Times. Produced by Dr. Mark Rowe and his colleagues at the Waterford Health Park the newsletter offers accessible, user-friendly information to employees about their own health and that of their families.

“The idea behind it is to bridge the gap between what the healthcare system knows and what the average person knows,” Dr. Rowe explains. “Health is a lot more than about being sick. We use a term called health-IQ which covers the combination of our knowledge, awareness and attitudes in relation to our health. The aim of The Good Health Times is to improve our health-IQ.”

He points to a poor attitude as having particular implications for men’s health. “Irish men tend to die five to six years sooner than Irish women and they are likely to live for 10 to 15 years with a chronic illness before that. Men seem to think that going to a doctor is a sign of weakness. Research shows that the average male will endure the painful and obvious symptoms of bowel cancer for six months before seeing a doctor. Bowel cancer is a curable disease if caught early enough but allowing symptoms to persist like this can mean it is not. These attitudes are costing men their health and their lives. We want to challenge these attitudes.”

Awareness and knowledge are also vitally important. “Just because we aren’t sick doesn’t mean we are well. We should all be aware of our blood pressure and cholesterol levels. We should know about the benefits of exercise, the pros and cons of alcohol consumptions, the dangers of smoking, and the benefits of a healthy diet. That’s what The Good Health Times is all about – we are challenging attitudes and giving people the knowledge to make informed decisions about their own health.”

And the information it offers isn’t necessarily what you’d expect from a medical publication. It covers areas like the benefits of eating blueberries and tomatoes, how to stick to new year’s resolutions, the dangers of passive smoking, and the reasons why garlic is good for you.

“I am very passionate about trying to improve community health and I firmly believe that health education is the key to this. If people have the right information they can make the right choices,” Dr. Rowe argues. “I’d much prefer to see people taking control of their health and being well than to treat them.”

One of his key points is that it is never too late to improve your health. “We are all capable of doing some quite simple things to improve our health and wellbeing,” he claims. “Things like drinking plenty of water and taking more exercise. I’ve been working as a doctor for 20 years and I am glad to see that there is now a much greater understanding of the concept of wellbeing. This covers people’s physical and psychological health.”

“We should know about the benefits of exercise, the pros and cons of alcohol consumptions, the dangers of smoking, and the benefits of a healthy diet

He believes that the importance of emotional intelligence is underestimated. “Emotional intelligence is another form of IQ and it is perhaps more important and relevant. It is about self-awareness, how we understand ourselves and how we relate to other people. We all have stress and how we destress is directly related to our emotional intelligence. Our emotional wellbeing is hugely important. When you ask why people are happy the research shows that 50% of happiness is genetic, another 10% is our life experience, and the remaining 40% is what we do every day. There are a number of things that we can do to influence that 40% and contribute to greater happiness which in turn impacts positively on our physical health.”

Among these things are acts of kindness and cultivating our own feelings of gratitude. He also believes good organisation of our lives can contribute positively to wellbeing. “Many of us are too busy being busy. If we can organise our time better we can make time for the other things that make us happier and contribute to our health. It also allows us time to set goals – goal setting is very important as it can help us gain the clarity needed to make improvements to our lives.”

While his message may have seemed New Age or slightly wacky in the last century it is now coming into the mainstream. “Progressive employers like ESB are committed to the overall wellbeing of their staff and this is very welcome”, he says. “I deliver seminars to groups and organisations and I have given some to ESB staff. I am on a bit of a crusade. I believe there is huge untapped potential in promoting people’s health and wellbeing through knowledge and awareness. Health budgets have been traditionally about firefighting and curing illness. But every euro spent on prevention can save tens of euros later on. There needs to be a sea change and more joined up thinking. We need to go beyond healthcare and promote wellbeing through sport, education and so on. This is so important for the future of our children. I’d love to see the concept of Healthy Schools being developed; a bit like the Green Schools programme.”

For further information about The Good Health Times log on to www.thegoodhealthtimes.com.