Need ideas for my presentation about women and their health

miss81, BSN, RN · Oct 21, 2009

I think you hit the nail on the head with those 4 topics! Sounds great!

rn/writer, RN · Oct 21, 2009

Instead of just giving people statistics--many of us start to glaze over when numbers are involved--speak about hypothetical individuals. This should help your audience to envision real women and invite a connection. Keep the information about the effects these problems have on real people rather than just the problems themselves.

Example:

Breast cancer affects x amount of women every year. Of that number, x percent have stage four cancer. And of that number x percent die. If the cancer is caught sooner, x percent will live.

Naomi found a lump in her breast one summer morning. She joined x other women in a club no one wants to belong to. Fortunately, because her cancer was caught early, she was one of x percent who lived to tell her story. Her husband and two daughters are grateful for every day they have with her.

If you speak about individual cases, you can then expand to the general information, and it will mean something. If you start with the general, some folks will tune out and never hear the specifics. Of course, you should only use composite and/or hypothetical cases, unless you have permission to share real stories. This kind of presentation can be highly effective in motivating an audience.

Let us know how it goes.

stellina615 · Oct 21, 2009

http://www.onpointradio.org/2009/10/overweight-america

Just heard this program on my local NPR station. Take a listen to the audio. I found it quite interesting!

sbfairy · Oct 21, 2009

I totally agree with not overdoing the stats. I've given many presentations (some of them on the topics you mentioned) and stats can really make some people turn off. My advice would be to give some stats and risk factors but to really be sure to give your audience some practical advice (especially regarding obesity) and resources they can use. The age group 13-30 is definitely more interested in doing rather than listening. Plan some activities. You can have them come up with reasons why they think women don't do breast exams (better still teach them how to do one) or have them exchange tips and recipes on healthy eating. Have some good visuals. If you ask around you may be able to find things like shower cards for breast exams. Don't forget to do some kind of evaluation of your presentation. That can be as simple as asking a set of questions and whoever answers the most wins a prize. Hope this helps.

dscrn · Oct 21, 2009

osteoporosis..sp..even though its a young group,most studies show deficiencies is Ca, Vit D intake...never to young to start.

diane227, LPN, RN · Oct 21, 2009

You might want to look at the Harvard Nurses Health Study web site. A lot of nurses have participated in this study for years. I know that I have been involved in this study since it started and they have gained a lot of interesting data on women's health. You might be able to get some information there.

You might also want to include some information on safety and how to keep yourself safe at home and we you are out. I used to give these courses and I always included safety. Make sure you include the fact that heart disease is the number one killer of women, not breast cancer.

Purple_Scrubs, BSN, RN · Oct 21, 2009

One good thing to emphasize is that heart disease is the #1 killer of women, more than breast cancer or any other disease. Also, the symptoms of heart attack can be very different in women, so this is a good thing for women to know. Look on the American Heart Association website for info on the different ways heart attacks can present in women.

rita359 · Oct 21, 2009

Please conclude your presentation by advising women to be advocates for their own best health care when some diagnosis is made. For instance, if diagnosed with diabetes, they need to know all they can know about diabetes and keep written records so they have a paper trail. They should get copies of important relavent medical test results, path reports, discharge summaries etc so that down the road they can be their own best advocates.