(ARA) – Although Millennials and Gen Xers have led society into a new world of personal disclosure and information sharing online, only one in four women between ages 18-34 with a regular health care provider (HCP) has initiated a conversation about their sexual health with the provider — and four in ten weren’t too comfortable about it.
Nationally recognized internist and co-author of the new book “What the Yuck?: The Freaky & Fabulous Truth About Your Body,” Roshini Raj, MD, warns that this health reticence among the “TMI Generation” may come at a cost: women who withhold information through shyness or discomfort may unintentionally impact their sexual health evaluations or they may even end up with a birth control method that doesn’t suit their lifestyle.
“Healthy Communication,” is a campaign created for women, by women, to help all women have more courageous conversations with their health care providers about subjects like sexual health that can be found on iVillage.com/health.
Good communication between patients and their health care providers is vital — but sharing sexual and reproductive health details with their HCP is not common practice for most women. The Healthy Communication survey, recently conducted by Opinion Research Corporation, examined the quality of relationships women ages 18 to 34 feel they have with their health care providers when seeking sexual health information, well-woman exams or birth control.
To get the most out of their annual ob/gyn visit, Dr. Raj insists that women should prepare in advance for candid conversations. Digital Natives, the subjects of the survey, may love interactive tools and online articles.
“If women cannot have open and honest conversations with their health care providers to express health concerns, ask questions and report the changes happening in their lives, health issues may go unchecked and diagnoses may be missed,” says Dr. Raj, Healthy Communication campaign adviser “Women who take a passive role in conversations with their health care provider could be compromising their health.”
Education and Empowerment
According to the Healthy Communication survey, only one-third of the women feel “informed, confident, relaxed or knowledgeable” when discussing their birth control. To combat this growing problem and help women become better sexual health conversationalists, Dr. Raj and Merck & Co., Inc. are launching Healthy Communication which can be found on iVillage.com/health. The site will provide educational resources to help women be more confident initiating a sex health conversation with their health care provider.
About the Survey
The survey of 370 women 18 to 34 years of age was conducted online in November 2009 by Opinion Research Corporation, on behalf of Schering Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc. Respondents were from online panel sources in the United States.
