Preventative activities in Middle Age

Question 1

45–49 years

Answer 1

Ask about:
• Smoking, nutrition, alcohol and physical activity (SNAP), and readiness to change
• possible depression but do not routinely screen unless staff-assisted depression care
supports are in place
• early signs of skin cancer
• preconception care
• completing a family history screening questionnaire

Measure:
• weight, height (to calculate body mass index [BMI]) and waist circumference
• blood pressure (BP)
• fasting lipids

Perform:
• Papanicolaou (Pap) test every two years (until April 2017)
• Human papillomavirus (HPV) test every five years (from May 2017)
• mammogram for women dependent on her individual degree of risk
• 23–valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (23vPPV) and influenza vaccination
for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
• Influenza and diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis (dTpa adolescent/adult
version) vaccination for pregnant women
• genetic testing as part of preconception planning

Calculate:
• risk of diabetes using the Australian type 2 diabetes risk assessment tool (AUSDRISK)
• review fracture risk factors for osteoporosis for women aged >45 years of age
• absolute cardiovascular risk

Question 2

50–64 years

Answer 2

Ask about:
• SNAP and readiness to change
• possible depression but do not routinely screen unless staff-assisted depression care
supports are in place
• early signs of skin cancer
• completing a family history screening questionnaire

Measure:
• weight, height (to calculate BMI) and waist circumference
• BP
• fasting lipids

Perform:
• Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening with faecal occult blood testing (FOBT) at least every two years
• Pap test every two years (until April 2017)
• HPV test every five years (from May 2017)
• mammography for women dependent on individual degree of risk
• 23vPPV and influenza vaccination for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
• vaccination for diphtheria, tetanus (DT); dTpa should be used in place of DT when
providing booster tetanus immunisations

Calculate:
• risk of diabetes using AUSDRISK
• review fracture risk factors for osteoporosis for women aged >45 years and men aged
>50 years
• absolute cardiovascular risk