CLAIRE C. LAURENCE/Arizona Daily Wildcat Associate professor Joel Meister speaks on the issue of childhood obesity yesterday at the Hacienda del Sol guest ranch.

To raise health awareness, some UA colleges are hosting a free health expo tomorrow for women.

The third annual Women's Health Expo will take place tomorrow from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. in McClelland Hall, 1130 E. Helen St., and is hosted by the Academy of Student Pharmacists from the UA College of Medicine and the UA National center of Excellence in Women's Health, a press release stated.

The free event is sponsored by University Medical Center, Safeway and the radio station 92.9 FM, and targets women in the community who are less fortunate as well as women who might be at risk for diseases, said Bee Quah, expo co-coordinator.

"We want to provide screenings for women who can't afford regular health care and raise health awareness and lifestyle education," said Quah, a second-year pharmacy student and Adriana Robles, co-coordinator. "These screenings will provide information to avoid treating diseases in the future."

The expo will offer 12 different health screenings performed by the College of Pharmacy and College of Medicine students, who will be supervised by preceptors from the College of Medicine.

There will also be five speakers who will also address women's health issues regarding poison and drug information, diabetes, cancer and what women what from health, the release stated.

Of the five speeches, "La Diabetes" will be in Spanish, said Rachel Richmond, an expo participant and first-year pharmacy student.

Screenings provided include diabetes, cholesterol, hypertension, osteoporosis, depression and vision, Quah said.

Other screenings include HIV/AIDS testing by the Pima County Health Department and lung function tests by the American Lung Association and Pima Community College. Fifty health organizations and local businesses will also have exhibitions, the press release stated.

The screening results will be delivered immediately, and Quah said she hopes the women will alter some of their regular lifestyle practices as well as seek medical attention.

"Hopefully the screenings will verify that they are healthy, but if the screenings do happen to be positive we will refer them to get further health care, or to a physician or specialist," Quah said.

The screening results will be kept between the screener, patient and preceptor, Robles said, and if the patient needs further medical attention the students will ask permission to pass the patient's information along to a professional who can help.

"Confidentiality is very important, and since we are all licensed interns, we are aware of the confidentiality rules about health care," Richmond said.

Every pharmacy student participating is a licensed intern, Richmond said, and they have been trained to perform screenings of these kinds.

"All of the pharmacy students are trained, and many of the students already have experience performing these tests because they work at local pharmacies like Fry's and Walgreens," Quah said.