A significant part of health care for women is devoted to disease prevention and timely diagnosis. For example, a well-woman visit is a physical examination that is recommended for all women (Tharpe, Farley, & Jordan, 2017). This annual meeting helps women to discuss their nutrition, lifestyle, future problems, and vaccinations. Other standard screenings include breast exams, pap tests, HPV and STI tests, pelvic examination, and other procedures that are required to address patients’ concerns.
Additional screenings are required for women of different age groups. For adolescent women, examinations and discussions revolve around patients’ healthy growth. As young women experience hormonal changes, many screenings (apart from general health) examine their progression in secondary sexual characteristics, sexual practices, and emotional, physical, or sexual abuse. For young adult women, breast examinations are added to the plan, repeating every 1-3years (Oeffinger et al., 2015). This procedure is necessary to locate breast cancer and other conditions. Moreover, cholesterol and blood pressure checks are added for women to detect any cardiovascular issues. In regards to one’s sexual health, pap, HPV, STI, and HIV tests are performed regularly since many women become more sexually active (Schuiling & Likis, 2017). Health demands of older women change, and additional tests become necessary. For women older than 65 years, bone mineral density is a necessary screening. At 40 years old, mammograms should be performed every 1-2 years due to the high risk of breast cancer (Løberg, Lousdal, Bretthauer, & Kalager, 2015). Other screenings are preformed depending on women’s genetic and acquired conditions.
It can be seen that screenings target the main risks that arise as women age. The danger of breast cancer, cardiovascular problems, and other conditions call for an increase in the frequency of specific examinations. At the same time, as some patients choose to create families and have children, their health has to be accessed to prepare them for a healthy pregnancy. Overall, the number of screenings through which a woman has to go depends on her age, family history, predispositions, and individual needs.
References
Løberg, M., Lousdal, M. L., Bretthauer, M., & Kalager, M. (2015). Benefits and harms of mammography screening. Breast Cancer Research, 17(1), 63.
Oeffinger, K. C., Fontham, E. T., Etzioni, R., Herzig, A., Michaelson, J. S., Shih, Y. C. T.,… Wolf, A. M. (2015). Breast cancer screening for women at average risk: 2015 guideline update from the American Cancer Society. JAMA, 314(15), 1599-1614.
Schuiling, K. D., & Likis, F. E. (2017). Women’s gynecologic health (3rd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Tharpe, N. L., Farley, C., & Jordan, R. G. (2017). Clinical practice guidelines for midwifery & women’s health (5th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.