Men’s health was one of the key focus topics at the “Blokes’ Day” event, part of the 2021 PWAPM Conference.
At the inaugural PWAPM Conference on the Gold Coast, Dr Don Ewart and Ron Smith from TIPRM (The Institute of Pest Risk Management) ran “Blokes’ Day”, an independent satellite session, primarily for male partners of conference attendees.
The keynote speaker was Stuart Torrance from the Australian Men’s Shed Association who delivered a thought-provoking talk and discussion on aspects of men’s health.
“Stuart’s talk took a fresh perspective on a topic that resonated with everybody. Blending it’s-like-servicing-your-truck with deeply personal stories, he delivered a strong positive message. We’re certainly keen to have him back at our next event,” said Dr Don.
With additional talks provided by the sponsors – Bell Labs on rodent management and Exterminex on termite baiting – as well as from TIPRM, a wide range of topics were covered. In particular, the discussion resulting from Dr Ewart’s session on chemical groups, risks and uses “could have continued for days”.
“We really appreciate the support from Samuel Wood (Bell Labs) for sponsoring the men’s health talk and for Dion Peters (Exterminex) for providing food throughout the day. They also contributed education sessions, without the hard sell, that were greatly appreciated and opened up much discussion,” commented Dr Don.
“Ron masterfully organised the event through the difficult Covid summer, with no guarantees of cross-border travel until a week before the event. This did keep numbers down, but we were really happy with the very interactive group,” said Dr Don.
Despite the challenges of organising an event during Covid, the feedback was very positive and TIPRM will be looking to replicate similar events in the future.
