Say yes to a health check with new digital tool for women

Created by Jean Hailes for Women’s Health, the tool – called Her Health Check – makes it easy for women to find out which health checks they need and when to get them.

After asking a few simple questions, Her Health Check provides immediate, evidence-based guidance about the checks and screenings a woman may need. Best of all, it’s easy to use and free.

Jean Hailes CEO Dr Sarah White says health checks often fall to the bottom of a woman’s to-do list.

“Women are often the primary caregivers in their families, but when it comes to their own health, they often put themselves last.”

She says Her Health Check is a simple, yet powerful reminder to women to prioritise their health. “It's time to put yourself first because when women prioritise their health, everyone benefits.”

The power of health checks

When it comes to disease prevention, women's health GP at Jean Hailes Dr Judith Hammond says health checks are one of our best weapons.

“Health checks are important for women because there is a range of diseases which can begin very silently so that we're unaware of them ... These are things that we can either prevent occurring in the first place or pick up early and treat effectively and hopefully cure.

“To pick up those early diseases, we need to be screened.”

Dr Hammond says women need different health checks to men – and for good reason.

“Our bodies are different, our reproductive systems are different, our hormones are different, and all of those things can affect our basic anatomy in different ways,” she explains.

Her Health Check gives women a personalised report, with links to useful information and screening services. It also features health check guidance specific to First Nations women.

Dr White explains: “We wanted to make sure we were meeting the needs of First Nations women and reflecting current medical guidelines in a culturally appropriate way when creating Her Health Check. So, we worked with women from First Nations communities to ensure the tool would do just that.”

Ready to say yes?

With this year’s Women’s Health Week theme, ‘Say yes to you’, we are encouraging all women to put their health first – starting with health checks. To use Her Health Check, visit checks.jeanhailes.org.au and follow the prompts.

Once you receive your Her Health Check report, Dr Hammond recommends sharing it with your doctor.

“It's worth making an appointment to talk about screening and prevention and … how that's going to play out over the next few years.”