Women’s health is a highly valued topic these days and understanding the importance of prevention is crucial for female care. To do this, it is necessary to know its concept well and promote the necessary actions to maintain it. Access to comprehensive, humanized and quality healthcare is a right that belongs to all women. Therefore, the perspective of comprehensive care must respect the singularities of women. As well as their histories, habits, cultures, financial conditions and family contexts.
Furthermore, another important point for caring for women’s health is to encourage self-care, have knowledge about your own body and make changes in your lifestyle, in order to improve the quality of your health and well-being.
Want to know more about the subject? So, continue reading and check out some details about Breast Cancer and Cervical Cancer.
What is women’s health?
We can conceptualize women’s health as a set of measures, actions and attitudes that aim to promote physical and mental well-being, respecting the physiological, metabolic, psychological and social characteristics of the female gender. Therefore, the term addresses more than the mere absence of diseases or illnesses, it is about health in its broader context.
Currently, women are more present in the job market, but without leaving aside personal tasks such as motherhood, marriage and so on, the time to visit the doctor or adopt healthier habits is becoming increasingly shorter for them.
Women’s health epidemiology
According to INCA data, the total number of deaths from Breast Cancer was 16,927, of which 203 were men (2017-YES). In 2018, 1,576 deaths of women due to Breast Neoplasia were recorded, being considered the first cause of death due to cancer in females.
In relation to cervical cancer , 16,370 new cases were estimated in 2019 in Australia, with an estimated risk of 15.43 cases for every 100 thousand women.
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is a very relevant public health problem in Australia, being the main cause of death from cancer among women. This is why self-knowledge about your body is important. Therefore, find out below the risk factors, how to avoid them and be aware of the signs and symptoms of this disease.
Women at high risk for breast cancer
For women at high risk for breast cancer, with a family history, individualized assessment and follow-up with a doctor is necessary.
Cervical cancer
Cervical cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in women in Australia.
Therefore, the main risk factor is infection with the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). This infection is transmitted sexually, unprotected, but can also occur through direct contact with infected skin or mucous membranes.
In an advanced stage of the disease, symptoms begin to appear, such as: spontaneous vaginal bleeding, after sexual intercourse or with effort and pelvic pain.
Women’s health: Risk factors for cervical cancer
- Failure to use condoms during sexual intercourse;
- Presence of other sexually transmitted infections;
- Low immunity;
- Smoking.
Prevention and diagnosis
The main way to prevent cervical cancer is to reduce HPV infection. In this sense, condoms should be used in all sexual relations and pay attention to vaccinations, according to the age group.
- Adequate intimate hygiene;
- Vaccination, depending on age group;
- Carry out a preventive examination for cervical cancer, for early detection of lesions.
- The preventive exam, also called Pap smear, must be carried out in women aged 25 to 64, who have already had some type of sexual intercourse.
Improving women’s quality of life and health
These two diseases are strongly associated with several modifiable factors, such as: unbalanced diet, sedentary lifestyle, obesity, dyslipidemia, smoking and alcohol consumption.
Therefore, read more about how to modify these habits and thus have a better quality of life, good mental health and prevention of chronic diseases.
- Another important point for a woman’s quality of life is mental health.
- Often, women in different age groups suffer from depression, anxiety and insomnia.
- These symptoms of stress are closely related to the social issue in which women are involved and therefore, comprehensive care for women’s health is essential.
Care for pregnant women
As we know, every woman has the right to safe, humanized and quality care during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum. Telehealthdr aims to strengthen women’s rights, structuring and organizing maternal and child health care.
How to take care of women’s health?
Consult a doctor regularly
It’s not possible to talk about women’s health without talking about having regular medical appointments, right?
Therefore, for your body to stay up to date and free from problems, you need the help of a qualified professional, as only he or she will be able to identify any illness or problem that you may have.
Furthermore, consulting a gynecologist every year, who is a specialist in the female reproductive system, is extremely important.
Perform exams periodically
In addition to regular consultations, having a check-up every year is essential to diagnose any type of disease you may have, early and obtaining the correct information.
Therefore, at least once a year it is necessary that you have a mammogram or breast ultrasound and a pap smear.
This frequency may be lower or higher, depending on your age, family history and other risk factors, so always talk to a professional!
Practice physical activities
It is also very important to take care of your physical well-being, so practicing physical activities is a great measure.
It is not necessary for you to live in the gym, as the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation is to practice 30 minutes of moderate activity daily, 5 times a week.
This way you will escape a sedentary life and your body will become healthier.
Pay attention to mental health
Due to some issues related to the female gender, women often need to undergo professional psychological support .
This monitoring will also help you in cases of any vulnerability that you are experiencing, such as abuse, pressure and different types of negligence.
Therefore, having psychological support is essential for women to maintain their mental health.
Importance of encouraging women’s health at work
Companies must always promote and promote well-being at work as well as the quality of life of their employees, therefore, it is necessary that they develop programs and policies to care for women’s health.
Such actions need to go beyond the conventional, addressing points to ensure the physical, mental and social balance of its employees.
It is necessary to raise awareness among employees about disease prevention by carrying out preventive exams at the company, in addition to adopting healthy habits, both at the company and in their daily lives at home.
Another very important measure is to help raise your employees’ self-esteem , combating stress, anxiety and other emotional issues that can cause problems such as depression.
Last but not least, it is necessary to combat prejudice, discriminatory actions and possible incidents of harassment within companies.
