Like many people in the United States of America and perhaps the world, I remained glued to my television as President Barack Obama took his oath of office. During his campaign, he promised the American people improvements in health care. He proposed that one of the avenues to better health care is the promotion of preventive care and public health.

This is an approach that has been used in Jamaica for several years, with many public health clinics all over the island. This approach has helped us to have an overall life expectancy which is only five years below that of the United States, despite our significantly lower economic standing.

Nevertheless, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has clear guidelines for periodic health screening for women at different age groups. These include that all women should have their blood pressure, height and weight checked at least annually.

Sexually active girls

They recommend that sexually active girls between 13 and 18 start having yearly Pap smears about three years after they begin having sex, in addition to tests for gonorrhoea and chlamydia. Routine chlamydia testing should be offered to women up to age 25 and annual Pap smears should continue until age 30. At that age, the frequency can decrease to every two to three years, if the young woman has had at least three normal Pap smears and no history of certain abnormal Paps, HIV or any condition that could affect her immune system.

Many physicians still encourage their patients to have yearly Pap smears. Pap smears should continue until at least age 65 and some women may benefit from continued screening even after that age. Women should have mammograms every one to two years, starting at age 40 and yearly ones, starting at age 50. She should start checking her fasting blood sugar and cholesterol level at age 45. If normal, the former should be repeated every three years and the latter every five years.

Colon cancer

Screening for colon cancer and thyroid disease should begin at age 50. Sexually active teenagers and all women between the ages of 19 and 64 should be offered HIV testing routinely. Bone density should be screened every two or more years, starting at age 65.

Additional or earlier screening is recommended if women belong to a number of high-risk groups. For example if a woman is overweight, it is suggested that she start testing her fasting blood sugar even as a teenager.

Recommended vaccines include the HPV vaccine for women up to age 26; Hepatitis B vaccine for teenagers who have not been previously immunised and a tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (tdap) booster once between the ages of 11 and 16 and then every 10 years, until age 64.

Jamaica's Ministry of Health has a National Policy for the Promotion of Healthy Lifestyles in Jamaica. According to data from this document, more than half of the deaths each year in Jamaica are due to chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, cancer and cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension. A recent study conducted by the Tropical Metabolism Research Institute (University of the West Indies) in collaboration with two Universities in the United States, estimated that 67 per cent of Jamaican women (from Spanish Town) were overweight and/or obese.

The health ministry's data also revealed that girls start to have sex at an average age of 15.9 years, that cervical cancer is the second-leading cause for cancer deaths in women and that the HIV infection rate is highest in teenage girls. This information suggests that some of the periodic screening recommended by ACOG would be useful in identifying some of our significant health problems in Jamaican women.

Dr Monique Rainford is a consulting obstetrician and gynaecologist. Email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.