OB-GYN Noon Lecture
Reproductive Preventive Health Care
Evidence Base, Screening Criteria, and Logistics (What, Why, Where, When, and on Whom?)
This unit has been developed by the Nurse-Midwifery Service of the Department of Ob/GYN at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center -EI Paso in order to compile current evidence base for preventive reproductive health screening of the gynecologic patient in a general primary care or medical setting. It includes information on standards of preventive health care, standard setting, cost/payer issues and selected cultural components. At the completion of this unit, the student/resident should have the knowledge base to carry out appropriate reproductive health screening and referral to specialists. The didactic portion should precede a clinical rotation in reproductive health.
Objectives
This unit is intended to place women's preventive reproductive health screening in the context of total care across her life cycle and within the realities of current health care standards and costs. It is not all-inclusive but it is meant to provide a framework and resources that can be updated and expanded as understanding advances. In order to screen and refer appropriately, one needs to accomplish the following objectives:
1. Recognize the reproductive system as an integral part of every woman's life experience independent of age or parity.
2. Appreciate the interface between the culture of medical care and the cultural values that every woman brings from her culture.
3. Understand the current basics of female reproductive epidemiology across age groups and with emphasis on specific risk factors.
4. Evaluate and utilize current evidence as a basis to modify screening and referral practices.
5. Recognize sources of standards and recommendations for preventive reproductive health screening.
6. Consider cost effectiveness analyses and risk/benefit ratios within reproductive health in the context of total health care.
Table of Contents
I. Reproductive health screening in context of total health care
II. Cervical cancer and the Papanicolaou (Pap) Smear
III. Breast cancer and the mammogram
IV. Ovarian cancer
V. Epidemiology, evidence, and standards