Women’s Health Awareness: A Gift To All
Women’s Health Is A National Concern
According to the United States Census Bureau, women currently make up over half of the total US population. Women are more likely to suffer from more chronic illnesses than men. Moreover, African American and Hispanic women have the highest occurrence of chronic diseases and overall poorer health outcomes than women of all other races.
Given that women are busy and usually take care of others in their family before focusing on their own health needs, Women’s Health Awareness 2019, a women’s wellness conference, provides women of all ages an opportunity to focus their attention on their health. This event provides an abundance of health education, services and resources all in a one location.
“If we can educate and motivate women to take care of their health first, they will in turn make sure that their family’s health is taken care of, and that translates to communities, states, and the nation.” – Joan Packenham, Ph.D.
The Gift Of Women’s Health Awareness 2019
Women’s Health Awareness 2019 is a FREE women’s wellness conference and is open to all women of the Triangle area and surrounding counties. Recognizing that the month of April is National Minority Health Month and the first full week in April is National Public Health Week, we pay homage to these observances by raising awareness of health disparities that affect minorities by reaching out to women of color, the underserved, underinsured and uninsured. 2019 marks the fifth year of this annual event.
The full day event’s purpose is to increase health awareness, environmental health literacy and health equity by providing a wide range of health seminars, environmental health information sessions, health services, health resources and on-site health screenings. In 2018, over 800 women attended as participants, exhibitors, clinicians, health education specialists, institutional officials and volunteers.
Free on-site health screenings are a part of this conference and include: dental services, depression screening, diabetes testing, healthy heart screenings, kidney function testing, lung cancer assessments, lung function and capacity testing, mammography and cervical cancer screenings, skin cancer screens, vision screens, and STI screenings.
Numerous community, government, university, and business organizations donate their expertise and services each year to make this event a huge success. Some of these organizations include Durham County Department of Public Health, Community Health Coalition, NC Department of Health and Human Services, NC Cancer Prevention and Control Branch, Duke University Hospital, Duke Heart Center, and Duke Cancer Institute, UNC Dental Hygiene Program, UNC Pharmacy Program, and the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Joan Packenham, Ph.D., founder of the event and director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Office of Human Research Compliance states that “If we can educate and motivate women to take care of their health first, they will in turn make sure that their family’s health is taken care of, and that translates to communities, states, and the nation.”
This statement alone emphasizes the importance of community events like Women’s Health Awareness 2019.
Women’s Health Awareness 2019 will take place on Saturday, April 6, 2019 on the campus of North Carolina Central University. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is the lead sponsor with co-sponsors Durham Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the Durham Alumnae Delta House, Inc., and North Carolina Central University Department of Health Education.
On-site registration is available however, pre-registration ends on March 15, 2019. For more information about Women’s Health Awareness Day 2019 go to www.niehs.nih.gov/whad or call 984-287-4414.
