MEDIA RELEASE
17 August 2009
Young women missing out on preventive health care
Young Australian women are missing opportunities to invest in their future health according to research
from the Jean Hailes Foundation for Women’s Health.
The study on the effects of gender and age on health related behaviours has found women under the age of
50 are less likely to have regular health checks – such as blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose
checks.
The study also found 40% of women under the age of 30 are not having regular pap smears – a finding that
concerns lead researcher, Dr Mandy Deeks.
“The pap screen figures were lower than we expected,” says Mandy. “Young women are not attending for
pap screens as much as they should be and we need to know what is getting in the way of that.”
While study participants of all ages nominated exercise and diet as the most important factor contributing to
how long they would live – 90% of men and 94% of women – this belief is not reflected in their actual
lifestyle.
“People aren’t following through with their belief that lifestyle is important for their health, particularly in
the under 50 age range,” says Mandy.
“There’s awareness that diet and exercise are important – which is good – but we need to find out why
people are not following through and how we can encourage people to take their health more seriously.”
The study found that while 72% of men and women had a financial plan in place, only 42% had a health
plan.
“Younger people get on with life and think screening and health checks are something to worry about later.
If you perceive your risk of a particular disease is far away, you’re not as likely to do something about it,”
says Mandy.
“But when you’re younger it’s an opportune time to take preventive measures to protect your future health.
We encourage people to have a midlife health check. I think we should be encouraging people to have a
‘young health check’.
“It would be an opportunity to discuss lifestyle and to look at a person’s risk profile for certain diseases so
they could be given information about what they can do now to reduce those risks. We need to make health
planning as important as financial planning.”
The study raises a number of positives about how men and women in Australia view what contributes to a
healthy life.
“There is an awareness that lifestyle is key for health,” says Mandy. “Another interesting and encouraging
finding from the study is that men and women of all ages feel a stable home life and relationships are an
important factor that influences health.”
In total, 80% of men and 84% of women nominated a stable home life and relationships as important for
health.
“Our research shows that people respond differently to their health at different life stages. There is no broad
brush solution,” says Mandy. “We need to look at a range of options that support and encourage Australian
men and women of all ages to be proactive about their health.”
The effects of gender and age on health related behaviours
• Factors nominated to influence health were lifestyle (92%), relationships (82%) and environment (80%)
Women were more likely to be prepared to have an annual health check, to seek advice from their
medical practitioner and to attend education sessions related to health issues.
• Information on preventing illness was of greater interest to women and participants of 51+ years than
men or people under 30 years.
• Women (72%) were more likely to have their blood pressure checked than men (60%).
• 40% of women under the age of 30 did not have a regular pap screen, 63% did not have a regular blood
pressure check and 95% did not have their cholesterol checked routinely.
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MEDIA
To interview Dr Mandy Deeks please call Aleeza Zohar on (03) 9562 6771 or 0425 758 729.
NEWS 
