Illness Prevention
You would be wise to plan, in conjunction with your General Practitioner, your own program of preventive activities.
Compared with many of our patients, we health professionals might be less vulnerable to preventable illnesses. Nevertheless, there is still a range of activities which should be fundamental to your planning for your own health.
Why not use the following checklist to identify topics or activities for which you may already have a preventive or health-promoting plan. For the others, consider how you might address that lack. You may wish to refer to the Guidelines for preventative activities in general practice, available from the RACGP [03 9214 1414] or at www.racgp.org.au
All ages, all practitioners:
- Immunisations
- Weight
- Nutrition
- Oral hygiene
- Social supports
- Physical activity
- Skin cancer
- Smoking
- Depression and thoughts of suicide
- Blood pressure
- Alcohol consumption
Selected ages and individuals at risk:
- Younger women
- Pre-pregnancy screening (listeriosis, neural tube defects, rubella, smoking, alcohol and illicit drugs)
- Genetic screening
- Cervical cancer
- Breast cancer
Middle-aged practitioners (generally over 45 years of age, up to 65 years)
- Family history of premature cerebro-vascular disease
- Cholesterol
- Diabetes
- Osteoporosis
- Bowel cancer
- Breast cancer
Older practitioner (generally over 65 years)
- Glaucoma
- Dementia
- Visual and hearing impairment
- Problems with balance
- Incontinence
