FOR RELEASE: October 8, 2002
CONTACT: Pamela Williams
405/271-5601

Health Education Week Focuses on Internet Education Resources

Health education for children and youth takes place in the community, schools and via the Internet, according to health educators at the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH). The purpose of Health Education Week, Oct. 21 -25, is to focus attention on the need for health education to address a number of public health problems facing children and teenagers. The theme this year stresses “Medical Education - What Children Should Know.”

“Education is a major prevention strategy used to prevent communicable diseases, tooth decay, tobacco and drug addiction, obesity and teen pregnancies, to name a few of the issues confronting youth today,” said State Health Commissioner Dr. Leslie Beitsch. “With so many children and teens using the Internet, legitimate Web sites can be valuable prevention and treatment tools that health educators can use to answer questions for youth and give them a safe place to look up information in private. Hopefully, by connecting with legitimate Web site health sources, youth will know where to go for additional information and how to approach their parents or other adults to get the help that they need,” he said.

The following Web sites are recommended by OSDH health educators. They were created for children and teenagers to address the many health issues they face:

• For information about safety and injury prevention, contact the Safe Kids Coalition at 405/271-5695 or visit their Web site at www.oksafekids.org
• For information about school health, contact the School Health Program at 405/271-4471 or go to their Web site at www.health.state.ok.us/program/shcc/index.html
• For information on tobacco use prevention, contact the Tobacco Use Prevention Service at 405/271-3619 or their Web site at www.health.state.ok.us/program/tobac/index.html
• The Kid’s Health Web site found at http://www.kidshealth.org/index.html offers health and medical information for children with a special link for teens. Topics include acne care, fitness, nutrition, safety, body basics, drug and alcohol information, body piercing, tobacco prevention and a myriad of other issues faced by children and teenagers everyday. The information is science based and age appropriate.
• 4 Girls Health Web site found at http://www.4girls.gov/index2.htm offers health information for girls and teens between the ages of 10 and 16. This site includes a link for girls living with a chronic disease or disability. Some of the topics include self-image, nutrition, physical activity, emotional health and stress.
• The Youth Violence Prevention Center has a special link on its web page specifically for teens. It can be accessed at http://www.safeyouth.org/teens/index.htm. This center answers questions for teens and provides accurate information on various topics in regard to violence.

For more information about child health, contact the county health department in your area.

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