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Health Behaviors & Attitudes in Middle-Aged Women
Proposal
In the past 200 years, womens roles and influence on culture have evolved. For centuries they were considered the property of men and after overcoming many challenges, womens importance in culture is being acknowledged. Across the lifespan, women have various struggles and things to overcome. From child to teenager, from mother to matron; women are constantly evolving and so are the challenges that they face.
The purpose of this presentation is to examine some of the factors that shape the health behaviors and attitudes of middle-aged women. The findings of this presentation have practical implications and the knowledge of these issues is important for healthcare professionals who care for this population.
Population
The age of women that we have chosen to present is middle age, also referred to as Midlife. Women in this group range from age 35 to 65 years old. During this stage of life, a womens role can change dramatically. These women often find themselves caring for their children and caring for their aging parents, as well as many challenges in between.
Importance
The importance this population holds for the global community health of women as Deneris, Wheeler, & Salmon (2013) states, is that Lifestyle changes in midlife can positively affect long-term health for the individual woman and can reduce overall health costs in the future (p. 328). It is not too late for this population of women to make healthy lifestyle changes such as exercising, eating healthy, quitting smoking, and focusing on themselves. Increased healthcare needs are common in this age group, especially, during estrogen decline and the onset of menopause (Deneris, Wheeler, & Salmon, 2013). Chronic health conditions affecting women of the midlife population globally are; cardiovascular diseases, infectious and parasitic diseases, cancers, and lung diseases. With the exception of infectious and parasitic diseases, the other three health conditions are the top three causes of death among women ages 55-64 in the United States (Alexander, LaRosa, Badger, Garfield, & Alexander, 2014).
Poor diet and decreased physical activity increase risks for chronic disease. Risks are further compounded by smoking after menopause (Deneris, Wheeler, & Salmon, 2013). Healthy lifestyle changes include eating a healthier diet, increasing physical activity, and quitting smoking. Factors contributing to poor health outcomes are sociocultural, preventing women from obtaining quality health services because of discrimination. These factors are: unequal power relationships between men and women; social norms that decrease education and paid employment opportunities; an exclusive focus on womens reproductive roles; and potential or actual experience of physical, sexual and emotional violence (World Health Organization, 2015, para. 3).
Challenges
Aging is a process and continuum of life. Transition to each phase in life comes with challenges as part of growth and development. Choosing middle age in women as part of our research proposal is such a great opportunity for understanding the peak of health and life satisfaction. Women in this age take new responsibility and how these changes can play a significant role as they progress in their journey of life (Newton & Stewart, 2010). Midlife women discover more of their inner self at this stage because they have more autonomy, confidence, and are more assertive.
Women in the midlife stage face a difficult position in society. Some women are busy creating and establishing their long-term life goals (Alexander, LaRosa, Bader, Garfield, S & Alexander, 2014). Some women are raising children, taking care of their parents, and maintaining a healthy relationship with their spouses or significant other (Alexander, et al, 2014). According to the World Health Organization (2015), midlife age has to adjust to the physiological changes of middle age. Some changes include height, weight, strength, and also the subtle decline in acuity of the senses. Women in this age find themselves trapped between the demand for their children and their parents (Alexander, et al, 2014).
Background
Health promotion, education, and boosting womens confidence are the greatest ways to approach this population. Finding support groups, professional help, and providing them time to take care of their own needs can be an excellent approach to working with this population (Alexander, et al, 2014). Daisy, can you add some more sentences to this? I know that you did a couple because that is what it stated in the instructions, but in her feedback, it was too short.
Insight
This presentation is aimed at discussing the experiences of middle-aged women who are very vulnerable. They may struggle with psychological and physiological problems at the same time. It should be mentioned that these women are more at risk for different mental illnesses, especially depression (Okpaku, 2014; Olshansky, 2015). At the same time, they can encounter various physiological problems such as obesity, vision loss, as well as cancer. Many of them may be too afraid of undergoing medical examinations. Moreover, these people are adversely influenced by stress related to their employment (Au, Hauck, & Hollingsworth, 2013).
In turn, this presentation should demonstrate what kind of factors prompt middle-aged women to adopt positive attitudes towards health. In this context, the word, positive means that a person adopts a healthy lifestyle and tries to seek medical assistance as soon as possible. This behavior is important for minimizing the risks of various illnesses. It is one issue that attracts the attention of many researchers (Anshel, 2014). Among such distinguishing factors is the support of relatives or friends. These positive influences should be discussed in greater detail. It should also be demonstrated why some middle-aged women take a negative attitude towards their health. For example, demonstrating factors that indicate why some women may disregard the symptoms of various illnesses for a long time.
Understanding the issues that middle-aged women experience is useful since this knowledge can be applied to the assessment of different risk factors that these women are exposed to. For example, women who are affected by anxiety disorders can be afraid of undergoing medical examinations (Thani, Eljack, Thani, & Salama, 2012). Healthcare professionals should remember these details, especially when acting as educators. Thus, this information has practical implications.
Evidence
Overall, it is possible to examine the information derived through various surveys of middle-aged women. In particular, much attention should be paid to those surveys that show how these women perceive their physical and mental health as one of the intersectoral issues that do matter in the current society (Okpaku, 2014), as well as their lifestyles choices. Examining such details as to how these women view the importance of physical activities in their daily lives, their willingness to do health checks, and healthy lifestyle habits are necessary to determine positive outcomes. The point is that nowadays, both, men and women, suffer from a number of unhealthy habits that lead to certain health care costs (Anshel, 2014). They are eager to improve their habits, learn more about healthy living, and realize how they can contribute to their health. It is not an easy task, and the investigations by Au et al. (2013) on the ways of how women can lose their weight under the influence of being employed, or the work by Newton and Steward (2010) where the peculiarities of female midlife are discussed, or the ideas of Thani et al. (2012), who explain how the identification of a particular health problem (cervical cancer in this case) can define the level of womens participation in social life and make women pay more attention to different medical service that promotes healthy life. Focused surveys will show why women of middle-age attach more importance, or less importance, to their health and introduce the reasons why different women demonstrate different treatment to their health and the problems caused by the inabilities or unwillingness to follow the prescriptions. It happens that not all women clearly understand the outcomes of their decisions and further inabilities to change something. On the one hand, it is disappointing to realize that young women themselves worsen their middle-age lives. On the other hand, nowadays, women are free to make their own choice; what they actually need is a list of clear instructions on what can be done on the present in order to protect themselves in the future. The report proves that life at 60 differs considerably from life at 85, but the concerns women may be bothered with remain to be almost the same what can be done to improve their health or, at least, keep it on the same level (World Health Organization, 2015). It is possible to examine such characteristics of these women such as; marital status (Okpaku, 2014), employment (Au et al., 2013), relationship with their friends or relatives (Newton & Steward, 2010), and other such factors. The participants of these surveys will represent different ethnic, racial, and cultural groups to determine how these variables can affect outcomes. Other factors that will need to be considered are socioeconomic differences and the availability of healthcare. Overall, it is vital to evaluate available information in terms of its qualitative and quantitative relevance.
References
Alexander, L. L., LaRosa, J. H., Badger, H., Garfield, S., & Alexander, W. J. (2014). New Dimensions in Womens Health (6th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Anshel, M. (2014). Applied Health Fitness Psychology. New York, NY: Human Kinetics.
Au, N., Hauck, K., & Hollingsworth, B. (2013). Employment, work hours and weight gain among middle-aged women. International Journal of Obesity, 37(5), 718-724.
Dare, J. (2011). Transitions in midlife womens lives: contemporary experiences. Health Care For Women International, 32(2), 111-133. doi:10.1080/07399332.2010.500753
Deneris, A., Wheeler, C., & Salmon, S. (2013). Development and pilot outcome data of a midlife womens health assessment clinic: A comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach to health care. Journal of Midwifery & Womens Health, 58(3), 328-332. doi:10.1111/jmwh.12058
Fisher, K., & Kridli, S. A. (2014). The role of motivation and self-efficacy on the practice of health promotion behaviors in the overweight and obese middle-aged American women. International Journal Of Nursing Practice, 20(3), 327-335.
Newton, N., & Stewart, A. J. (2010). The middle ages: Change in womens personalities and social roles. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 34(1), 75-84.
Okpaku, S. (2014). Essentials of Global Mental Health. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
Olshansky, E. (2015). Womens health and wellness across the lifespan. Philadelphia, PA: Walters Kluwer.
Thani, A., Eljack, A., Thani, M., & Salama, R. E. (2012). Impact of health education on utilization of cervical cancer screening services among females working in secondary schools in Doha. Middle East Journal of Family Medicine, 10(4), 10-19.
World Health Organization (WHO), (2015). Womens Health. Web.
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