Health initiatives I can get behind

A lot of clever health initiatives have caught my eye recently - here are two that I think are worth getting into:

Your Man Reminder

The original ad.

Ok, I admit, I hate doing breast examinations. They are uncomfortable and awkward, and as one of my male friends has said "Like trying to find a lump in a bag of lumps". (He was talking about testicles, and screening them for cancer, but I think the same applies here.)

But, never fear, Your Man Reminder (courtesy of {Re}think Breast Cancer) is here to add some humour to a not-so-fun situation. The basic premise of this app (and ad) is that, every month, a reminder shows up on your phone to do a breast check (a basic Touch, Look, Check), with some tongue-in-cheek eye candy to motivate you (they even include a woman for those that way inclined). Personally I don't actually find any of the guys that attractive (too manicured for my liking!) but I love the comedic aspect and the fresh approach. It proves that health doesn't have to be serious all the time, and that we can have some fun with it. Now to find a way to do that with endometriosis...

If I'm totally honest, I never checked before this app came out, but now I do more often, because it reminds me how important it is.

The updated version - now with more information.

You can download the app (it's free!) here (iPhone) or here (android).

Sign Up Sister

"Sign Up Sister" is an initiative of the Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation (ACCF) to reduce the number of Australian women who suffer or die each year from cervical cancer. Once you sign up (with your name, mobile number, email address and date of last pap smear), they will send you out a reminder to get a pap-smear done every two years.

I think this is a great service, since in our increasingly mobile population, it is highly likely that many young women who are due for pap smears will not get their letter of reminder due to moving house or changing GPs. However, it's much less likely that they will change both their email and phone numbers during that time. (Eg - I've had the same email and phone number for the last 7 years or so, but have lived at 12 different addresses and have gone through about the same amount of doctors during that time).