April 27th, 2010 by Nancy Brown, Ph.D. in Announcements, Better Health Network, Health Tips
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The Wellness Assessment for Youth to Get Organized! (WAY2GO!) is an online survey for teens that asks questions about their nutrition, exercise, sexual, safety, substance use, emotional and social health, and provides an immediate individually-tailored report with resources.
The report also links teens to free Vive health coaching that teens can use to develop a personal wellness plan that includes regular messages sent to their computer or cellphone to support their health goals (e.g., remembering medication, packing a lunch, not using the computer for more than an hour at a time, etc.) Read more »
This post, WAY2GO: New Online Health Assessment For Teens, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Nancy Brown, Ph.D..
April 13th, 2010 by Nancy Brown, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Opinion, Research
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Baby boomers may have a new reputation. According to new cancer research, they are five times more likely to be diagnosed with malignant melanoma — the type of skin cancer that kills the most people.
The incidence rates of melanoma have risen from 7 cases per 100,000 people in the 1970’s to 36 cases per 100,000 today. The rising rate corresponds to the increase in tanning during the 1970’s, when baby boomers were young adults.
Parents and grandparents of teens should be checked by dermatologists as part of their preventive healthcare. I can only hope that teens today will be responsible for the stopping of this increase as they’ve grown up with the message that sunscreen is important and should be a daily part of their lives.
Photo credit: tata_aka_T
This post, Baby Boomers And Skin Cancer, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Nancy Brown, Ph.D..
April 10th, 2010 by Nancy Brown, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News
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Suicide remains the third leading cause of death among 15 to 24 year olds. In 2006, 4,189 people between the ages of 15 and 24 died by suicide, and for each of those it’s estimated that 100 to 200 other people attempted suicide.
“We Can Help Us” — a new national public service announcement campaign — is designed to reduce suicide and suicide attempts among teens in the United Sates. The campaign is a joint project from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Ad Council, and the Inspire USA Foundation. Read more »
This post, Suicide Prevention: “We Can Help Us”, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Nancy Brown, Ph.D..
April 3rd, 2010 by Nancy Brown, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, News, Opinion, Research
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The April issue of U.S. News & World Report will carry a story about the best states for teen drivers as part of a campaign to raise awareness for teen driver safety. The ratings are based on state driving laws and road conditions to determine how much a state is doing to promote safe roads, as well as government statistics on teen driving.
The best states for teen drivers are lead by these top ten (I feel like Letterman):
District of Columbia, California, Colorado, Maryland, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, Minnesota, Utah, and Washington.
Car crashes kill more teens each year than anything else. Read more »
This post, The Best States For Teen Drivers, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Nancy Brown, Ph.D..
April 2nd, 2010 by Nancy Brown, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Humor
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People, people, people: If you don’t understand how birth control works, you shouldn’t be having sex. What happened to the old days when the boyfriend was expected to sit through the video and conversation about all the types of birth control during the appointment at Planned Parenthood?
A friend sent me a link to the funniest video of men (trying to) explain how birth control works — it’s worth viewing for the laughs. These are all adult men who have some serious misconceptions about how birth control works, but “lady business” as a euphemism for vagina may become part of my vocabulary!
It’s no wonder that the United States has some of the highest rates of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections — our youth are ignorant about how to prevent them. Please talk to your teens about birth control.
Remember that the teens who know the most about sexuality tend to be the ones who don’t have sex. How’s that for motivation to talk to your teens?
Photo credit: nateOne
This post, Birth Control: How Men Think It Works, was originally published on
Healthine.com by Nancy Brown, Ph.D..
