Preventative care. It's something doctors emphasize, but many women still put off. For some, it's time. For others, cost. And for many it is something deeper — uncertainty about when to go or even what preventative care really means. We're taking a closer look at how women think about their health and why prevention so often becomes an afterthought. Fallon Frank has more.
If you ask a doctor what preventative care is, the answer is simple. It's about catching things early before they become serious. Dr. Nirvana Manning is an OB-GYN and chair of obstetrics and gynecology at UAMS. She says in reality, it's not always that simple.
"I think a lot of women are under the misconception that if there's not really anything going on or anything wrong, that they probably don't need to come."
That idea — that you only go to the doctor when something feels wrong — is common. Jenny Diaz is a nonprofit director and mother of two. She says for years, she didn't think about health care as something routine.
"I think I viewed it as like an 'if you have to,' right? Like if you are sick or if you are having a specific problem, then you go see a doctor or a healthcare provider."
So she didn't go, not regularly.
"I would go these long swaths and never really make myself get in unless something was wrong."
Dr. Manning says that misses the point of preventative care entirely.
"That prevention part — we would like to catch people when they are healthy, when they do not have a lot. And I think it's a great opportunity to educate."
Preventative care isn't just one appointment. It changes throughout a woman's life, from early adulthood to menopause and beyond.
"Our lives are changing so much from early teens or late teens to early twenties, thirties, forties, 50s and 60s, and the unique situations that occur with each stage definitely deserve a conversation that includes everything from reproductive health to cancer screenings to heart and bone health."
But even with that knowledge, many women still delay care. Dr. Manning says sometimes life just gets in the way.
"In that middle childbearing, crazy stage of life, we're so busy taking care of our families and our children that the prevention for the woman kind of falls to the wayside."
And when prevention is delayed, the consequences can be serious.
"The more we delay, what could have been very easily treated now becomes a life changing diagnosis."
That mindset — waiting for symptoms — can feel logical, but often comes from something deeper. Diaz says that has been her experience.
"I think deep down there was maybe a fear of like, if I go and something is wrong."
Fear, time. And, as Diaz articulates, putting others first.
"I think there's part of it, too, with being a woman. I think we have this sense of like, we always have to take care of everybody else and our needs come last."
Dr. Manning sees that pattern often.
"They don't prioritize their health care until they feel as though something has gone wrong. And quite often we're several steps down the line at that point."
And by then, options can be limited. Diaz says she learned that the hard way.
"When you find that out, that you've waited too long to do something and your options become much more limited, or you're not really given any options at all, I think there's a lot of guilt that you feel personally."
But even the women who want to stay on top of their health — the system itself can be confusing.
"I think there's confusion about when are you supposed to go? What are you supposed to ask for? What is actual preventative care and what is emergency care? What are things that I need to look out for?"
That confusion is something Dr. Manning says preventative visits are meant to address.
"Understanding when you need your pap smears, when do you need to be screened for STIs, when do you need to come see someone if you get an early positive pregnancy test, when do you need to start mammography based on your family history, based on your own history, when do you need to start colonoscopies, when do we need to start bone density — these are all very important."
Because ultimately, preventative care is about more than avoiding illness. It's about long-term quality of life.
"What do I need to do in my forties to ensure that I want to be an active 70-year-old someday?"
And it starts with something simple — making the appointment.
"My first instinct is to say go. What I tell myself is I'm just going to call and make an appointment today."
Dr. Manning agrees. Prevention only works if it actually happens.
"You have to make sure that you do it, because while this is prevention and is very easy, if you end up with a diagnosis, the number of visits and the number of touches to the medical community you will now have to do — that you equally do not have time for — is innumerable."
Preventative care isn't always convenient. It's not always comfortable, and it's often easy to put off. But as both a doctor and a patient make clear, waiting can cost more than just time.
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a rush deadline and edited for length and clarity. Copy editors utilize AI tools to review work. KUAF does not publish content created by AI. Please reach out to kuafinfo@uark.edu to report an issue. The audio version is the authoritative record of KUAF programming.
