(RxWiki News) Your doctor just told you that you're at risk for osteoporosis. He steps out for a moment, and you wish you could quickly look it up for a summary of the condition. Now you can.
The National Institutes of Health announced a new smart phone app that provides women with important information about their health.
"Stay informed to stay healthy!"
The app, called 52 Weeks for Women’s Health, can be downloaded for the iPhone or iPad as well as the Android systems, and it includes four key components.
The primary feature is an A to Z listing of common conditions that affect women and families.
About a third the conditions are specific to women, such as endometriosis, cervical cancer and menopause.
The rest are general conditions that can affect men or women, such as obesity, pain management, quitting smoking, sexually transmitted infections, diabetes, breast cancer, caregiving for others and heart disease.
One of these conditions is highlighted each week at the top of the app's home screen with "My Weekly Health Focus."
Woman can check the app just once a week and learn about the different conditions that they or their loved ones might be dealing with now or in the future.
Included in the summaries is information on health risks for each condition, symptoms and ways to reduce your risk.
Camran Nezhat, MD, an adjunct clinical professor of OB/GYN at Stanford University Medical Center, said this app offers women reliable and trustworthy information.
"In today's society, we have medical information readily at our finger tips. The problem is finding a source to trust," said Dr. Nezhat. "52 Weeks for Women's Health allows women to feel confident and secure about the medical information they receive. Further, it will help enable women to increase their involvement and understanding of their own health."
Another feature of the app includes a personal health section, where women can record their medications, medical conditions and disabilities.
The other two features are a personal journal and a place to list goals for relationships, health, fun, finance, education and career.
"We are thrilled to offer women access to these practical, research-based health tips on their mobile phones," said Janine Austin Clayton, M.D., acting director of the Office of Research on Women’s Health. "The new mobile features can now help even more women learn about and act on changes to improve their health for years to come."
Women who do not have smart phones can also access the same information online at the NIH's site.
The NIH expects to release a similar app for men's health in the future.
