Seven important medical screening tests for men are among the features designed for men in A Checklist for Your Next Checkup developed by the The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

Idea behind the pocket-size checklist, is for men to take it with them when they visit their health care providers to make it easier to talk about which screening tests they might need. Unlike diagnostic tests, which clinicians order when they suspect someone has a disease, screening tests help check for problems before there are symptoms, according to the AHRQ.

The brochure includes recommendations about cholesterol checks, tests for high blood pressure, colorectal cancer, diabetes, depression, sexually transmitted diseases, and prostate cancer.

Tips about other things to do to stay healthy, such as eating a healthy diet and exercising, are also included. The checklist includes a chart for men to jot down their screening test history and plan their next appointments.

"There is so much information about medical tests that it can be difficult to know what to do and when," said Carolyn M.Clancy, M.D., Director of AHRQ, the HHS agency that sponsors the Task Force. "This will help men decide with their doctors which screening tests they need based on the latest scientific information."

The Checklist for Your Next Checkup is available on the AHRQ Web site in English at http://www.ahrq.gov/ppip/healthymen.htm and in Spanish at http://www.ahrq.gov/ppip/healthymensp.htm.

Copies of the tool and related materials, including a comprehensive health guide called The Pocket Guide to Good Health for Adults, are available from the AHRQ Publications Clearinghouse by calling (800) 358-9295 or sending an e-mail to ahrqpubs@ahrq.gov.

Source: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, www.ahrq.gov.