For this session, use the women's health article, as well as other sources of information, to strengthen your knowledge. This will give you more insight and information to pass on to your customers. You can use information sources you may have in the pharmacy, such as other articles, OTC medicines guides and manufacturers' literature. Take the time to look at magazines and newspapers to see how they present women's health issues and understand what your female customers are reading. For further inspiration, visit the websites listed in the 'information sources' section.

You will find plenty of information about health risks in our article. Do you think any health issues for women are missing? If you do, you might like to add them to your list for team discussion. Also, why not have a team session where you identify health concerns common to the female members of the team and discuss how you address them? In order to make the training and discussion useful and relevant to your work, consider the following:

• What is a risk factor for health? Identify six risk factors for women's health. Which of these factors also pose a risk for men's health? What are the opportunities for physical activity in your area? What is available free? What is the price of gym membership in your area? Consider keeping this information to hand in the pharmacy
• What health checks and health screenings are recommended for women? How frequently should these health screenings and checks be conducted? Can you conduct any of them in the pharmacy? If so, which ones? For health screening that cannot be undertaken in your pharmacy, do you know where to signpost women to?
• Diet: what do UK guidelines recommend with regard to salt intake? How can your customers moderate their salt intake? Suggest some practical ideas. Identify one type of processed food €“ it could be baked beans, a ready meal, chips, etc €“ and between the team find out the salt content of three different brands of the chosen food. Which is the lowest? What are the key health risks of higher than recommended salt intakes?
• Alcohol: what are the recommended guidelines for alcohol consumption in women? How does this translate into practical guidance? Do you have information in the pharmacy to help customers who want to moderate their alcohol intake? lWhat could the pharmacy team do to achieve better health individually and together? How could you use this thinking to help your customers?