Living a healthy life is important to millions of people across the country each year because it helps them live longer. One way to live a healthy life or to have questions about health answered at health fairs. Health fairs can be free of charge to anyone who wishes to attend or can cost a couple of dollars to attend. Health fairs are designed to be helpful and educational gatherings of medical professionals and other personnel where questions can be answered, classes can be taught, screenings can be performed and much more can occur in the health field. Health fairs are typically held on community property, by churches, by schools, by businesses, by your company or on work sites.
Activities or topics covered at health fairs include:
- Chiropractic
- Acupuncture
- Fitness clubs
- Hospitals
- Cholesterol testing
- High blood pressure testing
- Diabetes screening
- Cancer screenings
Health fairs usually last only one day, for the entire day, and are advertised or promoted at least a month in advance prior to the date on the radio, on television, on the internet and in the newspaper. There are professional health fair organization planning companies that can plan and design health fairs for towns all across the country. Health fairs can also be planned and scheduled by medical providers, benefits directors, medical students or nurses. Some of the most popular health fairs are mobile health fairs. Mobile health fairs travel from one town to another over a period of several months, some of them with the sole purpose of vaccinating people prior to the winter months, which is flu season. Now, with the development and spread of the Swine Flu, mobile health fairs are more important than ever as the H1N1 vaccine is being distributed across the country.
Health fairs can also provide some people across the country with medical care even if they do not have medical insurance. People might not have medical insurance because they have been laid off, their employer does not offer medical insurance, or they cannot afford medical insurance on their own. Some health fairs will treat patients without charging them a dime for any of the services or procedures provided. Mobile health fairs can screen patients for one or more of the following conditions:
- Echocardiogram Screening:
- Patients will need to undress from the waist-up and women will be given a gown to wear. The patient will need to lie on their left side. The chest area will be examined by a medical professional with a non-invasive probe.
- Stroke or Carotid Screening
- Patient should wear a shirt that is open at the collar and has short sleeves. The patient should not wear a turtleneck. The patient will need to lie on his or her back on an exam table. The medical professional in attendance will examine the patient’s neck.
- Osteoporosis Screening
- Patients are asked not to wear pantyhose. The patient will need to remove the shoe and sock from one foot. The patient’s foot will be placed in a machine that measures bone mineral density.