healthymnwomen.org - Online Health Tools

The self assessment tools listed below can help you better understand your own health needs, create your own health care plans, and test your knowledge of women's health topics. Finding answers to your health questions can help you make decisions about caring for yourself and deciding when to seek professional health services.

Note: These tools are not intended to provide a diagnosis or treatment. If you identify a health problem through the use of these tools, or have concerns about your health, contact your health care provider.

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Breast Health: How to Do a Self-Breast Exam
Many people know at least one woman who has experienced breast cancer. Although breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, there are many effective treatments available. Tumors that are detected at the earliest possible time may be up to 100% treatable. This online tool from the Susan G. Komen Foundation shows you how to do a self-breast exam and tests your knowledge on early detection of breast cancer.

Cervical Cancer Screening: Find clinics offering free or low cost cervical cancer screening (pap smears)
This Web site allows women to search by zip code, city, or program for clinics offering free or low cost cervical cancer screening (pap smears). The site also has a description of eligibility criteria for programs offered by these clinics, as well as additional cervical cancer screening resources.

Clinical Trials: Find a Research Study in Minnesota
A clinical trial is a research study designed to answer specific questions about medications, vaccines, or new therapies. Clinical trials are used to determine whether new drugs or treatments are both safe and effective. Historically, women and other populations have not been equally included in clinical trials. We now know that women and men may respond differently to certain therapies and medications. Women’s participation is important since carefully conducted clinical trials are the fastest and safest way to find treatments that work. You are encouraged to discuss participation in clinical trials with your health care provider.

These websites provide regularly updated information about federally and privately supported clinical research in Minnesota and the U.S. You will find information about a trial's purpose, who may participate, locations, and phone numbers for more details.

Depression: Screening Test
Everyone experiences times of joy, happiness, challenge and sorrow throughout life. But if you've been feeling "down" for more than a few weeks or are having difficulty functioning in daily life, you may be suffering from a common yet serious medical illness called clinical depression, a condition that is twice as common in women as men. Depression is treatable but many people do not seek the professional help they need. This confidential online test will determine whether you may have symptoms of depression. As with any other illness, you should see your health care provider if you think you might have symptoms of depression.

Diabetes Risk Test
There are 20.8 million Americans with diabetes -- and nearly one-third of them (or 6.2 million people) do not know it. Take this test from the American Diabetes Association to see if you are at risk for having diabetes. Diabetes is more common in African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. If you are a member of one of these ethnic groups, you may need to pay special attention to this test.

Family Health History
Knowing your family’s health history is a powerful tool for knowing your health risks. The Surgeon General has created a new computerized tool to help make it easy for anyone to create a sophisticated portrait of their family's health.

Family Planning: Ovulation Calculator
Learning to know your menstrual cycle is an important part of taking charge of your health. Use this ovulation calculator to track your ovulation cycle and learn more about the phases of your cycle.

Family Planning: Choosing Birth Control
Sponsored by the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals this site provides a comprehensive self assessment tool for a woman who wants to choose a birth control method that is right for her. All methods are considered, including abstinence. Values and beliefs as well as lifestyle risk are also included in the criterion for choosing the best method for you.

Financial Well-being
Budgeting and taking control of your finances can help minimize some stress from money issues. The National Center on Women and Aging features the best resources for women’s financial planning and saving including financial calculators to help women of all ages plan their finances.

Heart Health: Create a Personal Profile
Heart disease is a primary health concern for women in the United States. Fortunately, there are many steps you can take to reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke. Create a personal profile of your health and lifestyle with information specific to your health needs.

Heart Attack Risk
This risk assessment tool uses information from the Framingham Heart Study to predict your chance of having a heart attack in the next 10 years. This tool is designed for adults aged 20 and older who do not have heart disease or diabetes.

Health Care: Choosing a Provider
Choosing a health care provider can be a difficult decision. You may need a different health care provider depending the providers available in your area and your specific health care needs. This is printable guide offers descriptions of the different services offered by a wide range of health care professionals.

Health Care: Getting a Second Opinion
Although their education may be similar, health care providers have different opinions on how to practice. Getting a second opinion from a different health care provider might give you a fresh perspective and more information on how to treat your condition. This guide leads you through the steps to getting a second opinion.

Health Care: Navigating the System
Navigating the health care system is often challenging. Learning to advocate for your own health needs can help. These online learning modules from the Center for Spirituality and Healing provide information on communicating with your health care provider, finding a provider and deciding on therapies.

Health Care: Talking with Your Provider
Waiting in your health care provider’s office can be a nerve-wracking experience. Knowing how to talk to your health care provider will help you get the information you need, when you need it, especially when visits are oftentimes short. This guide leads you through important questions to consider when preparing for a health care appointment.

Health Careers Exploration
The quality of women’s health care depends on providers who are knowledgeable and sensitive to the health needs of women of all ages and backgrounds. Health professions offer a wide range of opportunities for people at all stages of career development or transition. If you are considering a health as a career, this site from the National Institutes of Health provides online interest inventories, career development resources, as well as a section on “Career Resources for Women.”

Health Careers Exploration for Youth
Lifeworks is an interactive career exploration web site for middle and high school students. The "Career Finder" can be used to generate a customized list of careers especially suited for users' skills and interests. Users can browse for information on more than 100 medical science and health careers by title, education required, interest area, or median salary. LifeWorks promotes awareness of the wide variety of occupations in health and medical sciences and the range of opportunities at different education levels. True stories illustrate the variety of real-life career pathways, from the carefully planned to the unpredictable.

Incontinence
Urinary incontinence is an inability to hold your urine until you get to a toilet. Women experience incontinence twice as often as men. Pregnancy and childbirth, menopause, and the structure of the female urinary tract account for this difference. But both women and men can become incontinent from neurologic injury, birth defects, strokes, multiple sclerosis, and physical problems associated with aging. This website features several excellent clinical tools that can be downloaded including a bladder diary and a patient questionnaire that can be completed at home or in the waiting room.

Internet Health Information:What's Reliable?
The Internet can be a valuable source of health and medical information. However, sometimes medical information on the Internet may be overly simplified, incomplete, or even inaccurate. Please read this article from the Journal of the American Medical Association on how to find credible health information on the Internet.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Do You Have the Symptoms?
Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a condition caused by spasms in the colon wall that may cause serious discomfort. Women may be 2-3 times more likely to have IBS than men. Although there are no known tests or exams that identify patients with IBS, typical symptoms and tests for other conditions may allow your health care provider to make the diagnosis. Here are a series of questions-and-answers that will give you an idea of the symptoms your health care provider will need to know about and how a diagnosis is reached.

Mature Women: Tools for Health Risk and Assessment
This site offers easy self health checks using self test questionnaires or health calculators. Self test tools include: Heart attack risk, nicotine dependence, target heart rate, adequate sleep, common risk factors, ideal weight, risk of type II diabetes, metabolic syndrome, BMI calculator, depression and irritable bowel syndrome.

Mature Women: Depression Screening Test
Depression affects twice as many women as men. Women’s risk of depression also increases with age. This online assessment tests for depression in older people using the Geriatric Depression Screening Scale to evaluate the presence of depressive symptoms in older people. It's a self-rating tool that's easy to use.

Nutrition: Menu Planner
The interactive menu planner is designed to guide daily food and meal choices based on one day's calorie allowance. It may be used in advance to plan a meal, or at the end of a day to add up total calories, as well as fat, and carbohydrates consumed.

Nutrition: Restaurant Food Information
It is often difficult to know the nutritional value of foods when eating out. Here you will find nutrition information for items at many popular restaurants.

Nutrition and Physical Activity: Planning and Tracking
MyPyramid Plan is based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005. This tool can help you choose the foods and amounts that are right for you. For a quick estimate of what and how much you need to eat, enter your age, sex, and activity level in the MyPyramid Plan box. For a detailed assessment of your food intake and physical activity level, click on MyPyramid Tracker. Use the advice "Inside MyPyramid" to help you Make smart choices from every food group, Find your balance between food and physical activity, and Get the most nutrition out of your calories.

Physical Activity: Calculate Your Target Heart Rate
Your target heart rate, or THR, is the heart rate you should aim for in your aerobic work-out. Your THR depends on your heart rate at rest and your age. The THR is a common way of judging how hard you should exercise during aerobic (endurance) activities. It tells you how fast the average person’s heart should beat during endurance exercise sessions. DO NOT use the THR method if you take medications that change your heart rate, you have a pacemaker for your heart, you have an irregular heart rhythm called "atrial fibrillation," or you have any other condition that affects your pulse rate.

Sexually Transmitted Infection and HIV Risk Assessment
More young women are being diagnosed with HIV/AIDS than ever before. Fortunately, there are many steps that we can take to protect ourselves from HIV. Take an anonymous risk assessment test to find out your risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Sleep Assessment
Take this test to see if you are getting all the sleep you need. This test should only be used as a guideline and is based on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, developed at the Sleep Disorders Unit at Epworth Hospital in Melbourne, Australia.

Smoking: Nicotine Dependence Test
Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances. Research has shown that women may become addicted to nicotine differently than men, and may face unique challenges when trying to quit smoking. The nicotine dependency test will help determine your level of nicotine addiction. If you or a loved one is trying to quit smoking, knowing your level of nicotine addiction can help you determine what smoking cessation plan is best for you. Answer the following questions to identify your level of dependency on nicotine.

Smoking: Your Quit Smoking Plan
Over 20% of American women smoke. In addition to the known health problems related to smoking, research has shown that smoking may have unique detrimental effects on women compared to men. Quit Plan offers interactive tools to help Minnesotans quit smoking today. Quitting smoking has many immediate and long-term health benefits, and is one of the best ways to reduce your risk of conditions such as heart disease and lung cancer.

Women’s Health Quiz
This quick women’s health quiz test your knowledge of several major health issues for women to be aware of. After completing the quiz, you can search the site for information on many women’s health topics.