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Goals/Objectives
Instructional Procedure
Focusing Event/Ice Breaker
See suggestions in Ice Breaker page
TEACHING PROCEDURE
Assess the level of awareness concerning topic.
What do they know about diabetes, heart disease, breast cancer, breast self-exams, mammograms and menopause?
Facilitate discussion and participation
Encourage sharing of opinions/experiences or questions/concerns.
Diabetes
Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder with abnormally high blood glucose (sugar) levels as its most prominent feature
An individual can either be born with diabetes or develop it over time (late or adult onset). Women may also develop diabetes in pregnancy. Pregnancy induced diabetes (gestational diabetes) occurs only during pregnancy and diminishes after the birth. Because this condition is dangerous to the unborn child, diet and close supervision from a doctor is imperative.
Late or adult onset diabetes is most common in those greater than 35 years of age and the obese. Weight loss and diet modification can reverse the effects of this type of diabetes.
Over time, high blood sugar levels can harm your nerves, eyes, kidneys, and heart and blood vessels.
It can cause blindness, kidney failure, or the lose of a foot or toe.
Signs and symptoms include:
A good health care plan that suits your life style can prevent or delay the complications associated with diabetes.
Keep your blood sugar level well controlled
Eat a variety of foods each day (fruits, vegetables, grains and beans)
Exercise 3-4 times a week
Keep your blood pressure and cholesterol in control
Don't smoke
Take good care of your eyes and feet
Maintain an ideal weight
Heart Disease
Heart disease is the build up of fat in the arteries that supply the heart, which can lead to many conditions and ultimately, heart failure.
Many women do not believe that they are at risk for heart disease when in fact it is the number one killer of women in the U.S.
Heart disease will cause the deaths of nearly 500,000 women this year alone. This is ten times the number of women who die from breast cancer and nearly twice as high as those who die from all cancers and AIDS combined.
Heart disease appears much later in life in women than in men ñ generally ten years later. Because women tend to be concerned with other conditions they forget to think about their hearts and therefore diagnosis is delayed.
Heart disease occurs in the same manner in men and women but the symptoms are different.
Women experience "painless" heart attacks more often than men.
Women often report vague symptoms such as:
Some risk factors include:
If you are postmenopausal, ask your doctor if you can take estrogen replacement therapy. This is one of the most critical actions a women can take to reduce the incidence of heart disease by 50%
The best defense against heart disease consists of eating a variety of foods that are low in fat and cholesterol, regular exercise and adequate rest and stress management.
Breast cancer/Breast self-examination (BSE)/Mammogram
Every women needs to guard against the disease with regular physical examinations and monthly breast self-examination. However, certain risk factors need careful attention for the advantage of early detection.
When breast cancer is found early, before spread, the chances of cure are very high.
Risk factors include:
95% of all lumps are discovered by women themselves. This can be accomplished by checking your breast once a month, a week after your mental period.
Mammograms are a low dose breast x-ray that can find cancers too small to be felt by hand. It is an important way to help protect against a late detected breast cancer
Begin mammography by age 40, or by 35 if a family history exists. From age 40-49, you should have one every one to two years and every year after age fifty.
Menopause\
Menopause is the time in a women life that includes physical and emotional changes, mainly the end of menstruation and a decrease in circulating hormones.
Some of the more common symptoms include:
The decease in estrogen that occurs in menopausal women may significantly increase their risk of coronary heart disease and osteoporosis (loss of bone mass and density).
Taking estrogen in the form of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) can reduce a woman's risk of developing conditions associated with menopause.
FORMATIVE CHECK/PARTICIPATION
Divide group into small groups of three to four
Assign each group a different topic regarding woman's health (unless time only allows time for one topic ñ than assign the same topic to each group or split the one topic into categories)
Provide one poster board and markers to each group
Designate a time frame for which each group will design a poster to promote awareness for their topic
Have each group present their poster to the others explaining the components and ideas they included and why.
CRITICAL POINTS
Many women do not believe that they are at risk for heart disease when in fact it is the number one killer of women in the U.S.
A good health care plan that suits your life style can prevent or delay the complications associated with diabetes.
When breast cancer is found early, before spread, the chances of cure are very high. This can be accomplished through monthly breast self-examination.
CLOSURE
Closure should include a short question session followed by a brief uplifting statement or quote.