"Health Information Sheets"
Young Women's Resource Center (1999–)

URL: http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/healthinfo.html

SITE SUMMARY: Written primarily by the staff of the Young Women's Resource Center which is part of the Center for Young Women's Health, these Health Information Sheets address health- and medical-related topics that are especially of interest to adolescent girls: Health and Health Care (e.g., Transitions: A Guide to Getting Older, Going to College and Staying Healthy), Nutrition (e.g., FAQs, Healthy Eating for Teens, Backpack Snacks: A Guide for Teens, How to Be a Healthy Vegetarian, Calcium and Teens, Iron and Teens, Cholesterol and Fats), health- or medical-related conditions (e.g., A Guide to Puberty and Menstrual Cycles, Sports and Menstrual Periods, Emotional Health, Eating Disorders, Scoliosis).

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES

1. In the "Health Information Sheets" area of the Young Women's Resource Center Web page, choose an item from the sections on Nutrition, Health Care, and a particular health related situation from other sections (e.g., sports and menstrual periods, emotional health, eating disorders, smoking, scoliosis, or a more personal/private condition or situation). Identify the article's main point and supporting points, and what the article means to you, someone you know, or someone who would find the article useful, and why. Extra Activity: Choose an item from the Adolescent Research area found via a link in the left column of the search page of the Young Women's Research Center whose url is cited in the Related Internet Sites section below. Apply the activity suggested above which starts with the word "identify." Apply to it, if possible, the last activity of Question/Activity no. 6.
2. Click the links link on the Youth Page at the Young Women's Resource Center Web site (described in the Related Internet Sites section below). Select a Health-Related, Nutrition, or Exercise/Sports link, and choose a link on the links page of one of these topics. At the site whose link you chose, search for an item on a particular subject of the topic you selected. Adapt and apply to it the instructions that start with the word "identify" in Question/Activity no. 1 above.
3. Visit the Adolescent Health Transition Project, found via a link you discover by following the Health-Related Sites link on the Health Links page of the Youth Page that is part of the Young Women's Resource Center Web site. Find as stated in Question/Activity no. 2 above. Choose a health-related item from this Web page. Identify, in general, the transition that the item refers to. Adapt and apply to the item the instructions that start with the word "identify" in Question/Activity no. 1 above.
4. Keeping Question/Activity no. 3 above in mind, and then another type of transition referred to below, visit other Web sites or pages cited just below and apply the activities in Question/Activity no. 3 to two of them. Find the Web sites or pages as follows: At the www.girlpower.gov Web site, do a search for its "Health Science Curriculum" area via a search box, and note its links. See also the "Information for Teens and Young Adults: Adolescent Health Transition Project" Web site. (Each site has a link on the Center for Young Women's Health Web site's Youth Page's Health-Related links area.) See in addition the "Girls and Chronic Disease and Disability" area of www.4girls.gov and the "U.S. Department of Health and Human Services—Specific Populations"; both cited and described in the Related Internet Site section below. Option: You may also do site searches at the Web sites for "Children with Disabilities—Research Links" with A Youth to Youth Index Page, the "National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities," "National Organization on Disability—Sitemap Page" with links, and "Disability Related Resources" at the International Center for Disability Information," whose Web pages' urls are found in this book's Appendix I.

1. Visit one of these Web sites or areas: "Exploring Adolescence" at Women's Health Online, "Girls Health" at HealthDiscovery.com, "Health Issues" at SmartGirl.com, "FAQs About Adolescent Health" in FAQs About Women's Health, or "Adolescents and Teens" in Health Topics A-Z. (Their urls are cited in the Related Internet Sites section below, or in this book's Appendix B.) Select an item from one of these Web sites or areas. Adapt and apply to them the instructions that start with the word "identify" in Question/Activity no. 1 above. Next, find a similar item at the "Ethics and Moral Issues—Health" Web site area whose url is cited in the Related Internet Sites section below, and explain both items' viewpoints on the subject. Option: Choose another item from the above cited Web sites or areas and one on a similar subject in the "Ethics and Moral Issues—Health Web" site area, and explain both items' viewpoints on the subject.
2. Visit the Web site for the Journal of Adolescent Health whose url is cited in this book's Appendix D. Choose an article, one that interest girls, from this journal's Selected Full-Text Articles Online or Special Issue Online areas. Adapt and apply to it the instructions that start with the word "identify" in Question/Activity no. 1 above. Next, tell who wrote the article and her or his professional status (if available), where the article was published (if it was), how the author's profession and/or the person who did research (as the author notes in the item) adds something important to the article's point, the people (or types of people) featured in a research project noted in the item.
3. Think of something you would like to write about a health-related subject of interest to young women in general, and/or to you in particular. Look at the Your Stuff area of the Youth Page at the Young Women's Resource Center site (found as stated in Question/Activity no. 2 above). Write something that could be posted here. Next, click the Youth Page's Health Links link, then the next page's Health-Related Links link, and then check these Web sites whose links are listed here: "Teen Growth"; "Our Health, Our Futures"; and "Kidshealth.org for Teens." Study what can be contributed to these Web sites (e.g., questions, notes), and write something that could be posted at these sites.
4. Visit the "Instructions to Authors of the Health Sciences" Web site or the "Improving Public Understanding: Guidelines for Communicating the Emerging Science of Nutrition, Food Safety and Health" Web document, especially the General Guidelines, and Guidelines for Journalists or Special Interest Groups (e.g., for Consumers). Imagine you are a journalist, or think of yourself as a member of a special interest group that has concerns for consumers. Write something on a subject you choose and in one of the formats suggested. (Tip: For the main topic or particular subject ideas and information, to help you get started, you can look for general topics in items at or via the Young Women's Resource Center Web site or check the other Web sites cited in the Related Internet Sites section below or referred to anywhere in this chapter.) (Note: The Instructions' Web site url is cited in this book's Appendix C. The Guidelines' Web site url is cited in another chapter of this book which features that document.)

RELATED INTERNET SITE(S)

Young Women's Resource Center—Center for Young Women's Health

http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/resourcecenter.html

Besides the link to the Health Information Sheets via a Health Information link, this Web page features an online tour of the center, plus links to a Youth Page and a Parent's Page. Health links (accessible via the Youth Page) feature links to chats, publications, and organizations, plus particular subjects, including Puberty, and Exercise/Sports, plus particular medical or medical related conditions (e.g., acne, osteoporosis, substance abuse), and are primarily written by pro-fessionals associated with other health-related Web sites. The Parent's Page features links to advice for talking with teens on tough issues. A search page, requiring JavaScript to use, includes a keyword search box and pull-down menu of topic articles that include the Health Information Sheets. A Clinician Education link leads to a manual ("How to Start a Youth Web Advisory Program," available in PDF format), links to sites with more information, and a booklist. An Adolescent Research link leads to brief looks at research being done at the Center for Young Women's Health.

"Exploring Adolescence" at Women's Health Online

http://www.estronaut.com/n/adolescence.htm

Note especially Puberty, Nutrition for Female Athletes, Archives, Facts and Tips, plus Ask the Women's Health Specialist Dr. Karen Sarpolis. See also the links for mind, body, looks, eat, and move, with information for women, including some of interest to girls.

"Girls' Health" at HealthDiscovery

http://health.discovery.com

Type Girls in the search box, click Go, and see a list of annotated links featuring news or research items on girls from infants to young adults and some items on women's health.

"FAQs About Adolescent Health" in "FAQs About Women's Health"

http://www.4woman.gov/faq (click Adolescent link, then particular subject links)

See the links to Adolescent Health—An Overview, plus subjects including Puberty, Menstruation, Calcium Intake, Acne, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and more. Note also other links to FAQs About Women's Health in categories such as Nutrition and Physical Activity, Environmental Health, Mental Health, Preventive Care, and Screening.

"Health Issues" at SmartGirl.com

http://www.smartgirl.com/pages/issues/index.html (click Archives link)

Scroll down and click the link to a subject under the topics: body image, health and body, or individual health concerns that include acne, menstruation, learning disability, and depression. Issues are answers to questions sent by young site visitors, and are from the past ten months. (Educators or parents may want to look first at some items before students see them. Some subjects may be considered harsh or objectionable.)

Girls and Chronic Disease and Disability

http://www.4girls.gov/chronic

See especially the links for Body Basics and Go Surfing.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services—Specific Populations

http://www.hhs.gov/specicificpopulations/index.shtml

On this index page, click the link to "Adolescents/Teens/Youth." On the next page, click the "Girl and Adolescent Health" link (found in the General section), or the "Girls Health Information" link (under the Pages Designed for Teens section). Also on the index page, click the link for "Birth Defects, Developmental Disabilities, Kids with Chronic Illness," then the next page's link to "For Kids with Disabilities (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)," and the link for "About Developmental Disabilities (Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities)."

Ethics and Morality Issues—Health

http://re-xs.ucsm.ac.uk/ethics/health_and_body

Provided by the Britain-based Religious Education Exchange Service for schools, this Web site has links to information for young people ages eleven to sixteen, including some especially for girls and their teachers, on physical health, mental health, healthy eating, health conditions involving alcohol, drugs, smoking, and personal relationships, all considered from an ethical viewpoint.