Girl and Adolescent Health
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Adolescence represents a dynamic, developmental period when young women make important choices about life-style behaviors, including diets, physical activity, sexual activity, and use of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs that can influence their health and well-being throughout adulthood. The Office on Women's Health focuses on the overall health of all women throughout their lifespan. Below are some of the major programs and activities the Office on Women's Health is involved in.
In keeping with the mission statement of OWH of improving the health of women across their life span from childhood through adolescence and into adulthood, OWH has developed an adolescent girl health section that is part of the NWHIC site. This site (www.girlshealth.gov), which will continue to expand to new topics, focuses on friends and family relationships, trust, sexuality, violence and abuse, peer pressure, and self-esteem. The site is a resource that responds to adolescent girls' health concerns. The purpose of the site is to motivate girls to choose healthy behaviors without the tediousness "you should do this" message. A specialty section on Disabilities and Chronic Illness will be featured on the website. The Office on Women's Health partnered with FDA to develop a Girl Power! Component to the current "Take Time to Care" project, a project aimed at older women to raise awareness of using medications wisely and properly. The Disability and Chronic Illness Section of Girl Power targets girls ages 9 –14 and focuses on how to handle hospital visits, how to talk to your doctor, and how to tell your friends about your illness or disability along with other vital information for this population.
The OWH contact person is Ann Abercrombie.
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Eating Disorders are disabling illnesses that affect between 1-3 percent of young women in the United States. Congress, in the report language of Health and Human Services (HHS ) Appropriations for Fiscal Year (FY) 1998, directed the Office on Women's Health (OWH) to "develop a national media campaign targeting, but not limited to adolescent girls and women, to educate the public about healthy eating behavior". OWH is sponsoring the "BodyWise Eating Disorders Educational Campaign" targeting middle school educators and providers. The goal of the program is to increase awareness and knowledge of eating disorders, including their signs and symptoms, steps to take when concerned about students, and ways to promote healthy eating and reduce preoccupation with weight and size. An information packet is available that includes materials emphasizing the links among healthy eating, positive body image, and favorable learning outcomes, with some materials targeted to specific racial and ethnic groups. More information on BodyWise packets can be obtained by clicking here.
The OWH contact person is Ann Abercrombie.
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BodyWorks is a program designed to help parents and caregivers of young adolescent girls (ages 9 to 13) improve family eating and activity habits. Using the BodyWorks Toolkit, the program focuses on parents as role models and provides them with hands-on tools to make small, specific behavior changes to prevent obesity and help maintain a healthy weight.
The BodyWorks program uses a train-the-trainer model to distribute the Toolkit through community-based organizations, state health agencies, non-profit organizations, health clinics, hospitals and health care systems. The program includes one six-hour training module for trainers and ten 90-minute weekly sessions for parents and caregivers.
The Office on Women's Health, developed BodyWorks following two years of formative research.
The OWH contact person is Ann Abercrombie.
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Today, behavioral and lifestyle factors constitute over 50% of the causation of all 10 of the leading causes of death in American women. As many as one million premature deaths in the U.S. could be prevented through changes in behavior. In an effort to address this issue, the Get Real project was designed with the following goals in mind:
- To educate college aged women about important health issues;To provide a forum where young women can openly discuss their health concerns;To emphasize the importance of the behavioral components of health promotion and disease prevention; and
- To empower young women to make decisions and take responsibility for their own health and well-being.
The Get Real project consists of a 27-minute video, facilitator's guide, fact sheets and promotional posters. The video portrays the typical activities, attitudes, and reactions of young people on college campuses today, and is meant to serve as an introduction to women's health issues and to stimulate further discussion. This video kit has been distributed across the country to college health centers. Health educators may wish to view and use this important tool to promote the health of college-age women.To request free copies of the Get Real: Straight Talk about Women's Health video, please call the National Women's Health Information Center, 1-800-994-9662.
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National Bone Health Campaign
The National Bone Health Campaign (NBHC) is a multiyear national campaign to promote optimal bone health, and thus reduce their risk of osteoporosis later in life. The goal is to educate and encourage girls to establish lifelong healthy habits, especially increased calcium consumption and physical activity to build and maintain strong bones. In addition to a focus on young women, the campaign will target adults who influence them, including parents, teachers, coaches, youth group leaders, and health care professionals.
To help extend the reach and impact of its messages, the NBHC is creating a national partnership network of Federal, state, and local government allies, and nonprofit organizations. The goal of this network is to facilitate resource and information sharing among a broad range of partner organizations across the country. Partners will be encouraged to incorporate bone health messages and activities into their existing programs and to share lessons learned.
This campaign is a unique public/nonprofit partnership among the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Health and Human Service's Office on Women's Health (OWH) and the National Osteoporosis Foundation.
The OWH contact person is Calvin Teel.
Current as of January 2008
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