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- 25 - accessHealthNews.net May 2023 Volume 9 | Issue No. 70 Preventive care helps patients and providers catch potential health concerns early and intervene to lessen the risk of severe problems developing later. Patents can improve their current and future health by understanding risk factors for chronic diseases, cancer, and other health issues and knowing what actions can be taken to mitigate these risks. This is especially important regarding prenatal, postpartum, and maternal health, where early intervention can save the lives of both mothers and their babies. Women's Preventive Services Initiative (WPSI), a federal program supported by Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), helps women be proactive about their health. The program offers a variety of tools and resources for both providers and consumers to improve health outcomes through preventive action. Goals of WPSI are to identify and recommend evidence- based updates to HRSA-supported Women's Preventive Services Guidelines, raise awareness of the guidelines, and increase clinician adoption and utilization of the guidelines. In a recent HRSA webinar, Diana Ramos, MD, MPH, FACOG, and Susan Kendig, JD, WHNP-BC, FAANP, presented an overview of how these recommendations are developed through WPSI and how the program educates women on the opportunities they have to be proactive about their health. "Prevention is critically important to improving long life and health, and oftentimes that is especially true for reproductive age women," Dr. Ramos said. "If you start as an adolescent, the lifelong health really impacts not only the life of the person that's pregnant, but that of the children, the offspring, so it's across the life course from adolescents all the way to postmenopausal ages." Well-Woman Services One of the tools WPSI offers is the well-woman chart (available in English and Spanish), which is categorized into subsets including general health, infectious disease, cancer, pregnancy, and postpartum. Each subset includes information about the health concerns women face throughout their lifespan and what screenings and services they should receive, and when, to improve their health. It is important to note, WPSI recommendations apply primarily to cisgendered women, but can be relevant and applicable to individuals who are transgender, nonbinary, or otherwise gender expansive, founded on the principles of promoting equitable sex and gender-based care. WPSI recommends access to and the provision of respectful, gender-affirming, high quality, and safe health care. "In my opinion, one of the crowning jewels of WPSI is the well-woman chart," Kendig said. "The purpose of the well- woman chart and visit is really to ensure the delivery and coordination of recommended preventive services across the lifespan. This can be a single visit or it can be a series of visits." According to Kendig, there is a common misconception surrounding well-woman visits, and that they are often regarded as a one-time annual visit to receive a pelvic exam or Pap smear. While these are important, they do not nearly cover the range of preventive screenings and exams available to help women identify signs of concern early on. Instead, women should become familiar with the services appropriate for their age, health status, and risk factors, identified through the well-woman chart, which may require several appointments to complete. "It's important to understand what a well-woman visit is, because I think most of us think of that as, 'Oh, I go once a year, it's a one and done,' and that's not true," she continued. "The well-woman preventive visit isn't just that annual exam. It includes free pregnancy care, prenatal care, postpartum care, as well as inter-pregnancy visits." "It's important to understand what a well-woman visit is, because I think most of us think of that as, 'Oh, I go once a year, it's a one and done,' and that's not true. The well-woman preventive visit isn't just that annual exam. It includes free pregnancy care, prenatal care, postpartum care, as well as inter- pregnancy visits." - Susan Kendig, JD, WHNP-BC, FAANP READ MORE

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