Center aims to improve education
Center aims to improve education
Creates opportunities to provide health info
Many of the academic institutions designated as Centers of Excellence in Women’s Health by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services already had women’s health centers in place. The University of Pennsylvania created a center under the direction of Michelle Battistini, MD. Under her guidance, the center has designed several innovative programs to improve health education for women. Following are several examples:
• Age-specific educational folders.
When a woman comes into the clinic to see her physician she is given a folder of materials on health maintenance and disease prevention appropriate for her age. The folder for a woman in mid-life would contain screening guidelines for such diseases as osteoporosis: a breast self exam card and instructions on how to do a skin self exam, information on vitamin and calcium supplements, and hormone replacement therapy. If a woman has a particular health problem, such as high blood pressure, information on this topic would be added to the folder.
• Outreach seminar series.
Once a month, a panel of health professionals from the women’s center conducts a seminar at a local bookstore. "We try to coordinate the topic we speak about with whatever the national health month is, such as breast cancer awareness or national nutrition month," says Battistini, who is director of Penn Health for Women. The panel reviews information covered in any recent media coverage on the topic to make sure the public has not been mis-informed. The seminar series is held from September to April.
• Cooking and nutrition classes.
Once a month, women are invited to attend a class to learn how to prepare foods to improve their health. Like the bookstore seminars, the classes focus on the theme for the national health month. For example, during osteoporosis month, recipes targeted low-fat, calcium-rich foods. At each session there is a 30-minute nutrition lesson followed by a cooking demonstration. The classes are conducted by the center’s nutritionist and patient educator.
[Editor’s note: For more information on the educational efforts targeting women, contact: Michelle Battistini, MD, director of Penn Health for Women, Department of OB-GYN, University of Pennsylvania, 5 Penn Tower, 34th and Spruce, Philadelphia, PA 19104. Telephone: (215) 662-6035.]
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