Web Watch: Get on-line with sites that offer teen information
Teens aren’t just hanging out on the street corner anymore when it comes to seeking answers to health questions. A new national survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), an independent national health care philanthropy based in Menlo Park, CA, finds that two out of three young people have used the Internet to search for health information, and one in four says they get much of their health information on-line.
The survey, Generation Rx.com: How Young People Use the Internet for Health Information, also suggests that a significant proportion of youth are acting on what they find, with 39% of on-line health seekers saying they have changed their own behavior because of information they found on the web. The survey results, published in December 2001, are available free of charge at the KFF web site, www.kff.org, (click on the publication title listed on the home page) or by calling its publication request line at (800) 656-4533 and asking for package code 3202.
What are some reliable resources for adolescent health information? Check out the following sites listed by the foundation, as well as those included in the February 2000 issue of Contraceptive Technology Update, p. 25.
1. Go Ask Alice. Web: www.goaskalice.columbia.edu.
Go Ask Alice! is the health question and answer Internet service produced by Alice!, Columbia University’s Health Education Program. The web site was initiated in 1993 at Columbia University’s Health Education program, which may make it the first major Internet health Q&A site. Originally designed solely for Columbia students, its instant success on campus, combined with new Internet capability, quickly landed Go Ask Alice! on the World Wide Web for global access.
Go Ask Alice! is supported by a team of Columbia University health educators and health care providers, along with information and research specialists from health-related organizations worldwide. It receives more than 1,500 questions weekly from college and high school students, parents, teachers, professionals, and others on every conceivable health topic.
2. It’s Your (Sex) Life. Web: www.itsyoursexlife.org.
The primary goal of the "It’s Your (Sex) Life" web site, sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation, is to provide reliable, objective sexual health information to young adults. The information may also be of use for parents who wish to address these issues with their teens. The web site addresses such topics as pregnancy and contraception, birth control options, condom cues, avoiding unintended pregnancy, and information on sexually transmitted diseases. Resources includes links to other sites, tips on contacting a health care provider, and hotline information.
3. KidsHealth. Web: www.kidshealth.org.
KidsHealth bills itself as the "largest and most-visited site on the web providing doctor-approved health information about children from before birth through adolescence." Created in 1995 by the Jacksonville, FL-based Nemours Foundation’s Center for Children’s Health Media, KidsHealth provides families with easy-to-understand, accurate health information. The site has separate areas for kids, teens, and parents, each with its own design, age-appropriate content, and tone.
Teens can click on their section to look at information, divided into categories such as sexual health, body basics, and mind matters. The sexual health section is divided into topics for girls and guys, STDs, and birth control, and covers such questions as "Am I still a virgin if I use a tampon?" and "I’ve never had my period, so what is this discharge?"
4. MEDLINEplus Health Information. Web: www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/teenhealth.html.
MEDLINEplus offers free health information from the world’s largest medical library, the Bethesda-based National Library of Medicine. The site has extensive information from the National Institutes of Health and other reliable sources on about 500 diseases and conditions, including the teen section link listed above. The site offers links to the latest adolescent health news, which are updated daily, as well as information on nutrition, prevention and screening, research, specific conditions, and organizations. Researchers will appreciate the statistics link, such as one for Youth Risk Behavior Trends, 1991-1999, compiled by the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
5. TeenGrowth. Web: www.teengrowth.com.
TeenGrowth.com is an interactive web site created by pediatricians specifically for the health concerns and interests of the teen-age population. It not only provides accurate information supplied by a medical advisory board comprised of pediatricians and adolescent health educators, but it also offers teens an opportunity to confidentially submit personal questions related to their health, friends, school, and other personal issues.
Questions are classified under sections such as body, emotions, health, doctor, friends, sports, danger, family, school, and sex. Answers are provided to such questions as "I have this discharge from my vagina, and it’s white and thick. My vagina also burns. I’m scared to talk to my mom about it. What can I do?"
6. We’re Talking. Web: www.pamf.org/teen/index2.cfm.
The We’re Talking web site is a service of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, an affiliate of Sacramento-based Sutter Health, a nonprofit network of community health care services. Billed as a "PG-13 site" that is "intended to provide health information for teens over the age of 13," We’re Talking provides useful health-related information for young people in an open, honest forum. Teens can submit questions to the site’s team of clinicians and receive general answers, which are posted to the web site. The sex section covers information on contraception, STDs, rape, and other sexual health issues.
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