Press Release Date: July 15, 2008
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the AARP today released two new
checklists designed to help men and women over the age of 50 learn what they can do
to stay healthy and prevent disease.
AHRQ and AARP also released an accompanying wall chart, the Staying Healthy
at 50+ timeline, that provides information about recommended preventive services
and can be posted in both clinical and community settings. These three publications
Men: Stay Healthy at 50+, Checklists for Your Health; Women: Stay Healthy
at 50+, Checklists for Your Health;and the Staying Healthy at 50+ timeline
show at a glance the evidence-based recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services
Task Force regarding screening tests, preventive medicines and healthy lifestyle
behaviors for people 50 and older.
"As we age, what we need to do to stay healthy begins to change," said
AHRQ Director Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D. "These new easy-to-read checklists help
Americans age 50 and older realize the important steps they can take to stay
healthy."
Checklists for Health, available in English and Spanish, are brochures that
adults can take along to medical appointments and are designed to help patients and
clinicians engage in discussions about necessary preventive screening tests. Unlike
diagnostic tests, which clinicians order when they suspect someone has a disease,
screening tests help check for problems before symptoms are apparent. Patients can use
the checklists to record their screening test history and plan follow-up medical
appointments. Both checklists also provide tips about other things to do to stay
healthy, such as eating a healthy diet and exercising.
"We all have a personal stake in making wellness and prevention a top
priority," said Cheryl Matheis, AARP senior vice president of health strategies.
"We are delighted to be part of this effort to increase public awareness and
participation in age-appropriate health screenings that can often prevent or
delay expensive and debilitating chronic diseases."
The Staying Healthy at 50+ timeline displays the Task Force's
recommendations for preventive care for men and women age 50 and older in a wall chart,
and it is designed to be posted in places such as clinicians' offices, senior
centers, fitness centers, pharmacies and other public locations.
"Equipping people with the tools and information to stay healthy is important
for healthy aging," said Josefina G. Carbonell, Assistant Secretary for Aging of
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "We are eager to promote
the use of these checklists through Aging Network Community Based Partners that reach
more than 10.4 million older people and their caregivers and deliver evidence-based
health promotion and disease prevention programs."
The Task Force is the leading independent panel of experts in prevention and primary
care. The Task Force, which is supported by AHRQ, conducts rigorous, impartial
assessments of the scientific evidence for the effectiveness of a broad range of
clinical preventive services, including screening, counseling and preventive
medications. Its recommendations are considered the gold standard for clinical
preventive services.
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps people 50+
have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to
them and society as a whole.
Men: Stay Healthy at 50+, Your Checklists for Health and Women: Stay
Healthy at 50+, Your Checklists for Health are available on the AHRQ Web site
at http://www.ahrq.gov/ppip/men50.htm and http://www.ahrq.gov/ppip/women50.htm. The Staying Healthy at
50+ timeline is also available on the AHRQ Web site
at http://www.ahrq.gov/ppip/50plusposter.htm.
The publications may be ordered by calling AHRQ's Publications Clearinghouse
at 1-800-358-9295 or sending an E-mail
to ahrqpubs@ahrq.hhs.gov.
For more information, please contact AHRQ Public Affairs: (301) 427-1246 or
(301) 427-1244.
Internet Citation:
AHRQ and AARP Team to Help Adults Over 50 Stay Healthy.
Press Release, July 15, 2008. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville,
MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2008/ppip50pr.htm