SUNDAY, April 1 (HealthDay News) -- Two new gender-specific, evidence-based checklists designed to help women and men understand which medical checkup tests they need to stay healthy were recently announced by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

Your Checklist for Health, available in English and in Spanish, is a pocket-sized brochure that patients can take with them when they visit their health care provider. The checklists help patients discuss screening tests they might need.

For example, the men's checklist discusses cholesterol and high blood pressure tests, and screening for colorectal cancer, abdominal aortic aneurysm, HIV and obesity. The women's checklist discusses screening for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer, along with high cholesterol, osteoporosis, obesity and HIV for pregnant women.

The checklists include a chart to record a patient's screening test history and a help plan to follow up medical appointments. There are also tips on staying healthy, such as eating a proper diet and exercising.

"The abundance of health information available for patients can be confusing. These new checklists provide patients with scientific evidence in an understandable reference tool," Dr. Carolyn M. Clancy, AHRQ director, said in a prepared statement.

More information

Here's where you can find the the men's checklist and the women's checklist.

-- Robert Preidt

SOURCE: U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, news release, March 2007

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