Women’s Health Week is May 12th through May 18th, 2024. “What is Women’s Health Week?” You may ask. Women’s Health Week is a time to encourage women to take control of their health. We want to remind women to take positive and practical steps towards being healthy in mind and body.
When is Women’s Health Week? Women’s Health Week begins each Mother's Day. This year, it begins on May 12th and lasts until the 1th. During Women’s Health Week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health (OWH) is encouraging women to reflect on their individual health needs and take steps to improve their overall wellbeing.
Why Is Women’s Health Awareness Important?
Women experience unique health issues such as pregnancy and menopause. There are other issues that also can affect men and affect women differently. Women’s health awareness is important to encourage women to consider factors that influence their mental health and physical health.
Women experience unique healthcare challenges and are more likely to be diagnosed with certain diseases than men.
- Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women. Women may have more subtle symptoms of a heart attack than men. The month of February is nationally recognized as “Heart Month”, and the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women campaign encourages heart awareness.
- Cancer kills more than 250,000 women in the United States annually. By raising awareness, we can allow women to have easier access to preventive services to detect cancers earlier.
- Diabetes, being the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, can lead to serious and costly complications including heart disease, stroke, amputations, blindness, and kidney disease.
- Women are twice as likely as men to experience depression. This condition affects 1 in 5 women at some point in their lives.
- Alzheimer's disproportionately affects women, ⅔ of adults age 65 or older with the disease are women. This places a financial burden on the families, who cover an estimated $56,800 average cost per year. It is predicted that Alzheimer's will triple to 16 million by 2050.
- Osteoarthritis is a common form of arthritis, but is more common in women over age 45.
Reasons like these are why women need to watch after their health, and take those preventable steps towards a healthier life. Below are a few ways that women can do to stay healthy.
What Can Women Do To Stay Healthy?
Living a healthy lifestyle by doing things such as eating healthy foods, exercising, and maintaining an appropriate weight - can help prevent many chronic diseases.
- Another very important way to keep yourself healthy is by keeping your oral health in check. Oral infections, such as tooth decay and gum disease, can affect the entire body. Regular dental care can lead to cost savings by reducing the number of oral health problems.
- A woman’s reproductive system is susceptible to trauma, infections, and imbalances that may inhibit pregnancy or cause problems in your body later down the line. To keep your reproductive health in check, remember to go in for regular screenings, quit or avoid smoking, and maintain your menstrual health and hygiene.
- Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer among women. Check into your family history, and see if you might be at a higher risk for breast cancer.
- Maintaining your mental health plays a role in keeping yourself healthy. Excessive stress can lead to high blood pressure, back pain, and sleeping difficulties. You can manage your stress by using techniques such as regular exercise, avoiding smoking or alcohol intake, and practicing meditation or yoga.
We Support the Women Working Healthcare Jobs
Here at Nursa, we recognize that 90% of women make up the workforce of nurses. While you care for others, it’s important to remember to take care of yourself. We want more women to be aware of the risks, and take the steps necessary to prevent them. We appreciate our nurses, CNAs, and allied healthcare workers - and we want them to maintain and care for themselves as much as they care for many others. Furthermore, we are proud to have many nurses on our team here at Nursa. As a healthcare staffing app, we want our nurses to stay happy and healthy. Remember to stay healthy, keep active, eat healthily, and try to address and/or maintain all aspects of your healthcare needs.
