Getting Healthy Gets Even Better
by Keir Johnson
The latest component in Doctors Manitoba’s Getting Healthy public awareness tool, the Getting Healthy Guide launched this summer.
The Guide is a screening tool that invites Manitobans to enter their age and gender to get a personalized guide to preventing disease and living a healthier, longer life. It’s available for free at GettingHealthy.ca.
Guide results are packed with tips from Manitoba’s expert doctors, including everything from immunizations and medical screenings, to regular check-ups, to health concerns they may be at risk for and mental health and substance use resources.
It’s a valuable resource that wouldn’t have happened without the input from many specialists and family physicians, offering evidence-based advice aligned with guidelines from Public Health, CancerCare Manitoba, and national medical and health groups. While some of the topics in the Guide right now link to external resources, articles with localized content from local physicians are regularly added. Research continues to find that the public trusts online content from physicians, and that trust is boosted when it’s from a local physician.
Doctors Manitoba continues to grow Getting Healthy as members told the Association they want a public awareness focused on disease prevention and healthy living. This aligns with research commissioned by Doctors Manitoba that found most Manitobans (75+%) are interested in getting more information about healthy living and prevention from a credible source like physicians.
Additionally, Doctors Manitoba research uncovered that most Manitobans (83%) believe they aren’t doing enough or could be doing more when it comes to physical activity, eating well, improving their sleep, reducing their stress, and/or catching up on immunizations and medical screenings.
Both doctors and patients have said it can be challenging to find up-to-date Manitoba guidance for things like screenings and immunizations in one place, and often visits are rushed and there isn’t enough time to talk about preventing disease. The Getting Health Guide is a unique tool that brings this advice together in one place, offering personalized advice from the most trusted source available: doctors.
GettingHealthy.ca also features regular articles by physicians about a variety of seasonal or topical issues related to health and well-being. Articles are shared on social media and in a regular newsletter to interested members of the public.
Since being launched in June, over 7,000 Manitobans have accessed their personalized Getting Healthy Guide. Over 30,000 have visited the site to read articles and view the advice from physicians about Getting Healthy.
Getting Healthy is here to support the 4 in 5 Manitobans who believe they could be doing more to prevent disease and live a healthier life.
Share your expertise!
Thank you to all of the physicians who provided feedback and advice for the Guide so far. We’re always on the lookout for additional physicians to lend their expertise for both the Getting Healthy Guide articles and blog posts for the site. The Guide articles are linked with the custom results returned to visitors to the site when they enter their age and gender, while the blog posts are more general in nature.
If you would like to contribute, please reach out to us at GettingHealthy@doctorsmanitoba.ca. An honorarium is provided.