Swindon men asked to share mental health experiences
Even those who have never struggled can participate
Men in Swindon are being encouraged to share their experiences with mental health.
Swindon Borough Council has launched a survey to find out how it can better support local men and boys.
According to the council’s 2024 Suicide Audit, almost three quarters (72%) of suicides in Swindon were white British men, predominantly in the construction industry.
Richard Steptoe, Public Health Principal at Swindon Borough Council, said: “The main sort of aim of this survey is to better understand the experiences, needs and barriers faced by men who experience mental health challenges in Swindon.
“What we know is that nationally and locally, men sometimes are most likely to seek help when they're facing mental health challenges, however, evidence also suggests that men can face high risk of poor mental health outcomes, including death by suicide.
“And what really we're trying to achieve here is that we want to gain the valuable insights from the men of Swindon to ensure that our approach to improving the mental health of men in Swindon is evidence-based and -lead and shaped by those with lived experience.”
The survey is made up of five sections – four of which are mandatory and one that is optional – and can be answered by all men in Swindon, regardless of whether they have struggled with mental health in the past, are currently experiencing struggles or have never had mental health issues.
The mandatory questions determine whether the participant has ever experienced mental health struggles and how much of a priority it is as well as which support services the person is aware of and how they feel about them.
Additionally, the survey explores how Swindon’s men maintain their mental health, what support they would useful and whether they would be interested in a community engagement session.
The optional section asks for demographic information – however, people do not need to include this if they feel uncomfortable.
“We will obviously analyse the information, break that down and look for common themes and trends in regards to what our men are saying”, added Mr Steptoe.
“We will then produce a detailed report with some potential recommendations. Then, we've kind of asked the man as one of the questions in the survey whether they would be interested to engage in a men's community mental health summit, discussing public health and the wider system.
“So, we can then ideally look at you know what services, how they're being commissioned and what we can do differently going forward to ensure men feel safe and supported and confident enough to come forward, breakdown those barriers, breakdown that stigma that some men may carry in regards to talking about mental health to ultimately better improve the health and well-being of the population of Swindon.”
The initial report is expected to be ready by late winter or early spring 2026.
The survey can be found on Swindon Borough Council’s website and is open until 31 October.