the power of prevention
by Ellen Lindahl, RN, MPA
October 2007
Are you interested in making healthy changes in your life?
Research shows the best time to think about your health
is when you are not sick. Preventive care means focusing
on what you can change about your lifestyle — like
quitting smoking, de-stressing, and deciding to walk the
dog around an extra block or two — to reduce your risk
of chronic (and often preventable) diseases like diabetes,
heart disease, and cancer. Today it’s easier than ever to
find ways to put the power of prevention in your hands.
There is a wealth of easily accessible information on the
Web to help your whole family learn more about eating
right, exercising, and living healthy. With knowledge
comes the power to change. The Preferred Care Web site
at www.preferredcare.org includes KidsHealth® interactive
learning tools for kids, teens, and parents, as well
as an online health encyclopedia with over 6,000 health
topics to help you research health concerns, medicines,
and medical procedures so you can make informed decisions
about your health.
Take a health risk assessment
An online health risk assessment (HRA) is a questionnaire
that asks about your lifestyle, family health history,
and measurements called “biometics” such as blood
pressure, weight, and cholesterol numbers. At the end
of the survey, you get a personalized report about your
health. Taking an HRA can help you learn about your
personal health risks. The best HRAs don’t stop there,
but go on to help you develop an action plan for reducing
your health risks, along with interactive tools and trackers
to help you get moving toward a healthier lifestyle.
Preferred Care, for example, offers an online health risk
assessment from WebMD®, called HealthQSM, to most of
its members. After members complete a health questionnaire
and find out their HealthQ score, they can use the
WebMD Personal Health Manager to take steps toward
improving their score (and their health). Check with your
employer or your health plan to see what health risk assessment
tools may be available to you.
Stay on top of routine preventive health care screenings
One important way to be proactive about wellness, but
one that is often overlooked, is making sure to visit your
doctor for routine preventive health care screenings.
From screenings for different types of cancer – colon,
breast, cervical, and prostate – to blood pressure, osteoporosis,
and diabetes, these simple tests are designed
to alert your doctor to a health condition at the earliest
possible stage, when there’s the best chance to do something
about it. Flu and pneumonia vaccines also can be
important to your preventive health strategy.
Talk to your doctor about what screenings and vaccines
are right for you. To find out more about them, visit the Preferred
Care Web site at www.preferredcare.org and type
“preventive” in the home page search box. On the results
screen, click “Preventive Care Guidelines” for a screening
list, or click the “Find Your Suggested Screening” link on
the top of the Web page to use an interactive tool.
The power of prevention can help you take on life
and live well!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ellen Lindahl, RN, MPA, is the Director of Health Promotion for Preferred Care.
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