2024 Summer Inside SEES Issue 14 | Page 12

Monarch Wellne

Recognizing Women ’ s Health : A Source of Achieving Well-Being

BY : Darylnet Lyttle , Ph . D ., RN , FNP-BC Director for Student Health Services

Women make up 50.4 percent of the United States population according to the U . S . Census Bureau ( 2023 ). As an advanced practice nurse , our focuses is to promote health and educate on disease prevention . The Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women ’ s Health ( 2024 ) has chosen a few areas to focus , to include women ’ s empowerment , safe sexual health , awareness of maternal mental health , decreasing the stigma of women ’ s mental health , understanding care is available , reproductive health throughout the life span , and women and heart disease

( the leading cause of death in women ). Heart disease can be controlled with taking an aspirin a day , controlling your blood pressure , managing your cholesterol , and not smoking ( CDC , 2020 ).

I am challenging all Monarch Women to take time this to learn a new fact on women ’ s health to create a healthier life for not just now , but the future . It is important to obtain your regular health screenings to include a pap smear beginning at age 21 , testing for sexually transmitted infections to include HIV and syphilis , consider PrEP ( pre-exposure prophylaxis medication that assists in prevention of HIV ), self-breast exams and clinical breast exams , bone density

I am challenging all Monarch Women to take this time to learn a new fact on women ’ s health to create a healthier life for not just now , but the future .

testing , screening colonoscopy , dental cleaning and oral health screening , and eye examination . These screening are important to identifying potential health conditions early rather than later and at the point when they are not curable .

As we think about women of all ages , I encourage our Monarch younger women to take time to understand your

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