The health and wellbeing benefits of Men's Sheds to the men who participate have had significant research attention for over a decade. However, there has been little research into the broader impacts of Men's Sheds, particularly in relation to the impacts on significant others in the lives of the men who participate. Our paper aims to redress this lack of research by focusing on the interrelated perceptions and experiences of men and those closest to them in four Men's Sheds in regional Victoria, Australia. The research shows that the partners and carers of ‘shedders’ reported that the men's participation not only benefited the men but also had benefits for their significant others. The study also showed that the partners of shedders in the study found that their individual and joint adjustment to retirement was in some cases assisted by the men enjoying the social and structured environment of the Men's Shed, while in other cases it was seen by partners as an over-commitment and impacting negatively on the marriage. The findings also shed some important light on some tensions experienced by the partners associated with carer burden and adjustments to retirement.

Men's Sheds are entrenched throughout Australian and international communities due to their popularity in attracting mainly older men to come together and undertake various social and workshop activities. A growing body of research has emerged where men associate regular Shed participation with improved social, emotional and physical wellbeing. However, few studies have examined Aboriginal men's engagement in Men's Sheds. This article reports on a study that investigated how a cohort of older Aboriginal men from one rural Tasmanian community consider the benefits of engaging in their local Shed. A community-based participatory research approach was developed in consultation with Aboriginal community leaders to ensure the study supported the community's expectations. Interview data from ten Aboriginal men combine to represent the Shed environment as an enabling therapeutic landscape, with key themes represented as domains of belonging, hope, mentoring and shared illness experiences. Shed activities were premised on these men co-creating an informal, culturally safe and male-friendly community environment to enjoy the company of other men. The created Shed environment was mutually beneficial as the participants reported improved wellbeing despite living with the effects of declining health and ageing. The findings inform Aboriginal communities and health-care stakeholders to consider the unique role of Men's Sheds for enhancing the health of an ageing male population.

Community programmes have been shown to provide social and emotional benefits for older adults. The vast majority of community programmes for older adults are either mixed-sex or female-oriented in their activities and composition. As such, there is a scarcity of both opportunities for, and research focusing on older male adults’ participation in community programmes geared towards men. The present study describes the experiences of older male adults throughout their involvement in a male-oriented community programme. Participants described their involvement in the community programme on the basis of their characteristics and experiences that preceded their involvement, the characteristics of their current involvement, and aspects of the programme and their participation that promoted their continued involvement. The findings of this study have potential utility for community organisations aiming to increase the involvement of older men in their programmes. Furthermore, the findings indicate that community programme participation has the potential to promote social engagement and healthy, active ageing among older men.