Friday 1st September sees the launch of Urology Awareness Month 2023. According to the Urology Foundation, one in two of us will get a urology condition at some point in our lifetime. As such, the various urological diseases can have a significant impact on our health, which in turn affects the workplace.
Urology Awareness Month is an annual campaign to raise awareness of urological diseases – and the list is a long one. They include prostate, bladder, kidney and male reproductive cancers and non-malignant conditions including incontinence, urinary tract infections (UTIs), erectile dysfunction and kidney stones.
Who is this blog for?
We are supporting the campaign by focusing on some of the most common conditions and how they impact on women’s and men’s health, and what employers can do to raise awareness and support employees.
We trust the content will be of value to employers, in particular HR and line managers who want to learn more about the conditions and the support that their people might need. Cordell Health have also produced a new guide on the topic. It’s broader than this article and we’ve included details of how to get this at the end.
Urology and woman’s health
Urology conditions that affect women include an overactive bladder, urinary tract infections, incontinence and interstitial cystitis. In a similar pattern to urology conditions affecting men, these can be sensitive topics to talk about and create difficult situations to manage in the workplace. Women already face stigma associated with periods and the menopause, so urological conditions only add to these. Even when employers attempt to normalise conversations on these topics, women may still prefer to stay silent.
Urinary incontinence is experienced by at least 3 million adults in the UK – both women and men. According to the Urology Foundation, it’s experienced by one in three women over the age of 35. Symptoms of urinary tract infection include urinating more often, pain or burning during urination and pressure above the pubic bone in women.
While treatment can be relatively straightforward with antibiotics and exercise, being in a position of experiencing the need to empty a bladder can be extremely distressing. The same goes for interstitial cystitis where chronic pain may affect the abdominal area. The consequences of holding the bladder for too long can make these issues worse.
Here are several ways you could help support women with urological conditions – or aid prevention:
- A common consequence of all conditions that affect the bladder is the need to use the bathroom more often. The location of desks near to toilets goes without saying – as does sensitivity for the need for more frequent breaks.
- Encouraging hydration. Contrary to what we may assume, drinking more water is good for the bladder. If you become dehydrated, it can lead to concentrated urine which can irritate your bladder.
- Lifestyle habits can help manage these conditions and employers can help with awareness of the need to maintain a healthy weight, limiting alcohol and caffeine intake and keeping fit and maintaining a strong pelvic floor.
- Flexible and home-based working. Women experiencing these conditions may appreciate the flexibility and comfort of home working and requests to adjust working patterns should be met with a positive response wherever possible.
- Encouraging take up of wellbeing services, possibly offering mindfulness and meditation classes. Research suggests that mindful meditation can help with overactive bladder episodes and can help calm the body and mind.
Urology and men’s health
Common conditions that affect men include prostate cancer, testicular cancer, male infertility and erectile dysfunction. While they all effect men they also have a common link – men don’t like to talk about them, and even less so at work. This presents a dilemma for HR and line managers. It’s virtually impossible to help someone if you aren’t aware of their condition. And they can’t help themselves if they aren’t even aware they may be at risk.
Testicular cancer, for example, is one of the most survivable cancers if detected early through self-examination. The most common symptom to look out for is a lump or swelling in one of the testicles. It’s most common in young men with over 50% who get it being below the age of 35. Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer in men. It accounts for around 26% of new cancer in males in the UK with common symptoms being blood in the urine, more frequent urination and bone pain.
Awareness is therefore key. In May this year we wrote a blog called Proactive steps to promote men’s health awareness at work. It’s worth a read for a wider look at men’s health, but it also contains, as you’d expect, pointers to self-detection. One of the ideas we covered also serves to reduce the stigma around men’s health – the DIY Man MOT. Presented in the style and language of an MOT, it includes specific men’s urological issues including prostate and erectile dysfunction. With reluctance from men to confront many urological issues, work-based health awareness could be a life saver.
Here are several ways you could help support men with urological conditions – or aid prevention:
- Encourage regular checkups and screening, whether via the DIY Man MOT or take up of men’s health initiatives via GP surgeries.
- Promote your own wellbeing services which may include screening covering male urological issues. Research shows that employees are often unaware of the help that’s readily available to them.
- If you are in the London area, book the Man Van which provides free health checks for men and boosts early diagnosis of prostate and other urological cancers. Alternatively, take inspiration from the way this is pitched to men and create your own awareness and screening campaign.
- Open up the conversation around men’s health. We know this is a challenge, in a similar way to discussing mental health. But living with urological conditions in silence is likely to affect mental as well as physical health. Checking in with male colleagues with a simple ‘how are you’ can be an effective way to start a conversation. The success of this will also depend on your culture. The greater the awareness of men’s health, the more likely it will be that a male colleague will feel comfortable opening up.
Breaking the taboo
The statistics we’ve used in this article tell us that these are conditions affecting millions of men and women and increase as we age. The workplace is ageing so organisations are going to find that more employees are affected. There’s really no excuse for their continued suffering in silence. Just as we are becoming more open about discussing mental health issues – something that used to be extremely sensitive – the same opening up approach needs to apply to urological conditions as part of a wider workplace conversation about both women’s and men’s health.
In conclusion
With one in two people suffering a urological issue during their lifetime, employers have an opportunity to provide support and in so doing, help manage an issue that affects physical wellbeing and productivity. Fail to act and the risk of disengagement and absence is likely to increase. As employers, leaders, line managers and colleagues – we all need to be that little bit more aware of what may lay behind absence, toilet breaks or indeed changes in mood due to these conditions. The more we can break the taboo, the more our employees will experience a more accepting and supportive culture.
Get our guide
Cordell Health have produced a guide for employers on Urology Awareness. We cover more of the conditions and also include useful links for additional information. The guide is available as part of our employee wellbeing subscription service.
If would like to find out more, please contact us on wellbeing@cordel.247developments.com.
More about Urology Awareness Month
The campaign will run across September 2023 and you can get involved and download guides and awareness materials from this link from the Urology Foundation:
