A new research project indicates that when it comes to women’s health, there is a large focus on reproductive health, during the reproductive years, and on reproductive organs. Ages and issues that fall outside of this category don’t seem to get the same attention or quality of treatment that those issues within do. The end result? Populations and problems tend to be overlooked or don’t receive the attention that they should.
Part of the reason why this has been is because of the large focus on preventing the spread of communicable diseases and sexually transmitted infections. And while these are certainly serious issues, they are not the only issues that women face. Cancer can happen in other places besides breasts and the cervical area. Cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s impact women as well as men. However these health problems don’t tend to get the same focus, unfortunately. The team, based out of The George Institute for Global Health, found that just under half of all published health research focused on what they called “bikini medicine”–medicine focused on the areas covered up by a bathing suit.
They stated that although this is important, it doesn’t accurately represent what women face when it comes to reality. Unfortunately, it means that there’s not as much of an effort to develop medicine in other areas of women’s lives.
And although healthcare initiatives have been well intentioned in the past, they aren’t meeting individual needs as fully as they should anymore. “Bikini medicine” does serve an important function, but women are much more than reproducers.
Women, and people in general, are much more than this. We each have unique conditions and situations and even though public health tends to focus on the issues that are most common or most likely to be overlooked, not everything is always given the attention that is deserved. This is why it’s so important to have a partnership with a team of medical professionals and meet with them regularly–whatever that might look like for your particular situation. Some people only need to visit their doctor once a year, some need to meet far more frequently. Finding what’s right for you and sticking to it can help address these other health issues with more success.
Senior care is similar to medical care in that individual needs must be taken into account in order for it to really work like it’s supposed to. We are all unique. We all have our own different sets of needs and goals that we’d like to accomplish. My medical needs are certainly not anything like yours. So why should senior care look the same for everyone?
This is one of the huge benefits of in-home care. Although in-home care might sound like it’s the same from person to person, it looks very different in each home that it is provided within. It’s care, but customized to meet the needs of each individual that receives it.
If you would like to learn more about this type of care, please feel free to get in touch. We’d love to talk more and go over how this type of care can help you and your family meet your own personal needs and goals.
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