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The Center for Talent Innovation, a nonprofit think tank based in New York City, conducted the multi-market survey, which included 9,218 respondents (4,546 men and 4,672 women) from the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Germany and Brazil. Of those respondents, 59 percent of women indicated that they make healthcare decisions for others, a response that jumps to 94 percent for women who work and have children younger than 18. Thus, the survey calls these women the “chief medical officers of their families.”
However, while 94 percent of women said they make healthcare decisions for others, the survey found that many lack the resources to execute them. Sixty-two percent of women said they lack the time to figure out what they should do to stay healthy.
How often should women go to the doctor?
“While women are juggling work, family, hobbies and personal causes, they can’t forget about their own health,” says Kathy Langer, MD, OB/GYN at Riverton Hospital. With a focus on prevention, The American College of Gynecology (ACOG) makes the following recommendations:
Women ages 19 to 39 should have
- Periodic breast and pelvic exams
- A pap smear or vaccine every three to five years
- HPVseries for those 26 years or younger and not previously immunized
- DTP (diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis) vaccine or booster every 10 years
- An annual influenza vaccine
- MMR (measles-mumps-rubella vaccine) for those not previously immunized
- Varicella (chicken pox) vaccine (one series for those without evidence of immunity)
- Chlamydia and gonorrhea testing (if 24 years and younger and sexually active)
- HIV testing
- An annual mammogram
- A pap smear every five years
- Diabetes testing every three years after age 45
- A lipid (cholesterol) profile every five years after age 40
- A colonoscopy at age 50
Women ages 65 and older should have
- Bone mineral density screening every two years.
- A pap smear and HPV testing every five years
- A colonoscopy every 10 years
- Diabetes testing every three years
- Hepatitis C virus testing (one-time testing for persons born 1945-1965 and unaware of their infection status)
- Lipid profile assessment every five years
- A yearly mammogram
- Thyroid-stimulating hormone testing every five years
- A urinalysis
Free yoga mats and class at physician-led women’s health workshop at Riverton Hospital, Thursday, April 21 from 6 to 7 p.m.
Women ages 18 to 65+ are invited to hear OB/GYN Kathy Langer, MD discuss health screening and vaccination recommendations, vitamins, bio-identical hormones, aspirin usage and decreased libido. It will be an open forum with time for questions.
The workshop will be held at Intermountain Riverton Hospital, at 3741 West 12600 South, Riverton, in the Riverton/Herriman Conference Room at the north end of the hospital.
Wear comfortable clothes for a physical therapist-led yoga class afterward.
