National survey reveals critical barriers to improving women's health

For American women, being healthy is far more than getting a good checkup or being disease-free. According to "Women Talk," the first annual national women's health survey from the National Women's Health Resource Center (NWHRC), being healthy means both physical and emotional wellness and having a healthy family. In fact, the survey's findings strongly suggest that women place a greater priority on the health of their family than their own personal health.

The data that show women's perceptions of why their health has improved or declined over the past five years are strongly linked to lifestyle issues, such as changes in stress levels and exercise. In fact, women reported that having more time and reducing stress would most help improve their health.

• While women report stress playing a significant role in their health, only half say they reduced stress in their life in the past year.
• Only 15 percent visited a mental health counselor during the last year.
• Although 65 percent of women report exercising more, and 59 percent say they went on a diet, few women indicate they have met their diet or weight loss goals.

The data suggests that health care professionals can more effectively use office visits to explain how wellness strategies, such as stress management and health screenings, can help improve women's health. The data also suggests women need to better prepare themselves to get the most from medical visits.

"The survey findings indicate a clear need for women and their health care professionals to do a better job of communicating about both physical and emotional wellness and how to achieve it," said Amy Niles, president of the NWHRC.

When it comes to taking care of their own health, American women say their decisions are limited by the demands on their time and money. Women, particularly those under the age of 65, feel pressure from competing responsibilities of work and home life.

The survey found that income plays a critical role in how women see their health; the lower a woman's family income, the poorer her perception of the quality of her health. Lower-income women also told us that their health has deteriorated over the course of the last five years. Lower-income women believe that they have less control over being healthy than do middle- or upper-income women.

• 39 percent of women earning under $20,000 a year rate their physical health poorly, compared to just 15 percent of middle-income and seven percent of upper-income women.
• One out of two lower-income women report that their health has gotten worse in the last five years compared to just 31 percent of middle- income and 26 percent of upper-income women.

"These are important findings," said Ana E. Nunez MD, director of the Women's Health Education Program, Drexel University College of Medicine, in Philadelphia. "Income is strongly related to access to health care services, and many women's access is even further restricted by cultural and language barriers."

According to the data, knowledge about preventative screenings and awareness of family medical history varies by race. Specifically:

• Caucasian women (67 percent) and African-American women (60 percent) report being very familiar with their family's medical history.
• Only 51 percent of Latina and 33 percent of Asian women report being very familiar with their family's medical history.
• African-American women report they are most aware about a broad range of guidelines for preventative medical screenings.
• Asian women are less aware about preventative screenings, specifically those relating to their gynecologic health.

Based on the survey findings, the NWHRC is launching an educational initiative called Take 10 to T.A.L.K. The campaign features a wallet-size card with four important questions that women should ask when visiting their health care professional.

"For their part, women need to become active partners in their health and wellness," said Niles. "We hope this initiative will remind women to take time to focus on their own health."

The National Women's Health Resource Center commissioned the study to explore women's knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of their health. The telephone survey of 1,005 women, 18 years of age and older in the United States was conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research Inc., during March 2005. There was an over-sampling of African-American, Latina and Asian women. The margin of error is +/- 3 percentage points.

The National Women's Health Resource Center (NWHRC) is the leading independent health information source for women.

For copies of the executive summary and the Take 10 to T.A.L.K. card, visit http://www.healthywomen.org/.