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Librarians, Plan Ahead for August: Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month

To support your library’s health programming strategy, here are August health programing ideas – brought to you by The Pulse, part of the Gale Health and Wellness Resource Center. Keep looking for us on the first of each month to find resources for three months out. 

Still working on spring and summer? Check out May: American Stroke Month / National High Blood Pressure Education Month, June: National Men’s Health Month, and July: Women’s Health Month. Is your library focusing on National UV Safety Month this August? Check out our August 2011 library health programming ideas.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) only one in three children in America have ever received eye care services before age six, yet more than 12.1 million school aged children have some form of vision problem.

August is a month where eye-damaging UV rays are still strong and school is just around the corner – the perfect time for Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month. Put the spotlight on Children’s Eye Health and Safety in your library this August with these free resources and with information from Gale Health and Wellness Resource Center:

  • Quick and Easy: printable coloring pages for children and helpful print-ready information for adults.
  • Featured Resources: books for children and their caregivers and links to reliable online information
  • Book Club: children, teen, and multi-generational book club ideas
  • Tie Ins:  ideas for library programs
  • Community Resources: local agencies to contact
  • Publicity Resources: free resources to help you publicize National Men’s Health Month at your library through social networking sites or traditional printed materials
  • Fun Stuff: links to interactive websites and apps

Quick and Easy

From the National Institute of Health’s National Eye Institute:

More Quick and Easy Printables:

Featured Resources

Books

Ultra Violet (UV) Information from the National Weather Service

Organizations to Contact

Free information and resources:

Book Club

Observe Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month this August by choosing one of these vision related books or movies for your children, teens, or multi-generational discussion group:

Tie Ins

Combine Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month with Craft Time

Community Resources

Find a professional to speak at your library or find help for your library customers.

Publicity Resources

Use these free publicity resources alongside your library’s August programming information – newsletter, blog, posters, or fliers – to promote Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month month at your library this August.

Fun Stuff

Add these interesting and helpful interactive links to your library’s website, Facebook page, or Twitter feed:

Posted on: May 15, 2012, 11:24 am Category: Library Programming

By: hwatkins

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A Week Devoted to Women’s Health

Mother’s Day is a celebration of moms, but the following week, May 13-19, honors all women with a focus on their health. National Women’s Health Week is sponsored by the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health. 

In particular, May 14 is National Women’s Checkup Day, to inspire women to have a regular health check-up. According to the Department of Health and Human Services (and doctors agree), regular checkups for all women are the keys to preventing many chronic conditions including diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and high blood pressure.

One of the web site’s handy features is a screening chart that shows which health screenings are recommended for women in different age groups: 18-39 years, 40-49 years, 50-64 years, and age 65 years and older.

Want to plan an event or promotion related to Women’s Health Week? Check out these activity planning resources. Options include promotional materials for radio and print, event planning guides, Women’s Health Week graphics for use in print or web sites, posters, and customizable e-cards that can be sent to remind women to get regular health checkups or schedule follow-up visits to manage a chronic condition.

But the government’s commitment to support women’s health doesn’t end at the end of the week.

The 2012 Woman Challenge is an ongoing program designed to help women monitor their health all year. The program began during Women’s Health Week 2001, and allows women to sign up and set goals for good nutrition and physical activity. They can track their progress and get support from other women.

To create an account, visit The President’s Challenge site. This part isn’t just for women. Anyone age 13 years and older can create an account and track their eating and exercise to improve their health and meet diet and activity goals.

Additional information about National Women’s Health Week can be found in the current features section of the web site of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC National Women’s Health Week page links to general facts and information about women’s health in the United States, including a FastStats page, with women’s health facts such as these: Approximately one-third of women in the U.S. age 20 years and older have hypertension, and 17% of women aged 18 years and older are smokers.

Get the word out to help women stay healthy!

 

 

Posted on: May 10, 2012, 10:55 am Category: Uncategorized Tagged with: ,

By: heidisp

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Pay Attention to Distracted Driving

Can you resist the urge to text or make phone calls behind the wheel? Think about it, especially during April, which is Distracted Driving Awareness Month.

Fast Lane, the blog of the United States Department of Transportation, features a post about the programs different states are currently using to curb handheld phone calls and texting while driving. Examples include the “Don’t Be A Zombie Behind the Wheel” campaign in California and the Talk Text Crash campaign in Texas.

Current facts and statistics about the incidence of and deaths from distracted driving in the U.S. are available at Distraction.gov,  the official U.S. government website on distracted driving.

Distraction.gov lists the top distractions for drivers, in no particular order:

  • Texting
  • Talking on a cell phone or smartphone
  • Eating and drinking
  • Talking to other passengers
  • Attending to personal hygiene (brushing hair, etc.)
  • Reading, including reading a map Using a GPS or other navigation system
  • Watching a video
  • Adjusting a car radio, CD player, or MP3 player

Distraction.gov also provides a state laws page that allows visitors to click on a state to see the laws (if any) related to distracted driving. The site includes a research page, with links to several downloadable reports, including a few from the National Highway Safety and Traffic Administration (NHTSA).

The 2011 National Phone Survey on Distracted Driving Attitudes and Behaviors, conducted by NHTSA, is among the most recent and informative of these reports. The survey included 6,002 adults aged 18 years and older. Key findings include the fact that more people respond to incoming calls than initiate calls while driving, but approximately 78% of survey respondents across all age groups said that they answer the call and continue driving, vs. arranging to return the call later, when they are not behind the wheel.

For some insight on managing distracted driving by employees whose jobs involve driving, start with the distracted driving page on the web site of the Occupational Health and Safety Administration. The site features a brochure and other information for businesses about preventing distracted driving, with a special page dedicated to distracted driving issues for workers younger than 18 years.

And don’t underestimate the potential power of celebrities to help curb distracted driving. Oprah Winfrey aired a show on distracted driving in January 2010. Her web site highlights the show and includes a No Phone Zone pledge to refrain from phone use while driving.

Posted on: May 7, 2012, 4:27 pm Category: Uncategorized Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

By: heidisp

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Mindful Indulgence: Alcohol Awareness Month

April means time for many things, including Easter, Passover, warmer temperatures, and school vacations, but it is also Alcohol Awareness Month.

Alcohol Awareness Month was initiated in 1987 by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD). Much of the mission of Alcohol Awareness Month is to reduce the stigma associated with alcohol abuse that keeps many individuals and families from seeking help, according to the NCADD. The NCADD web site’s page on Alcohol Awareness Month notes that this year’s theme is a focus on preventing underage drinking, “Healthy Choices, Healthy Communities: Prevent Underage Drinking.”

For anyone interested in planning an event related to Alcohol Awareness Week, the NCADD offers a 21-page organizer’s guide  as well as a Media Update and a Resource and Referral Guide.

Other related resources on the NCADD site: an alcohol abuse self-test for teens,  with questions such as “Do you use alcohol or other drugs to build self-confidence?” and “Have you lost friends since you started using alcohol or other drugs?”

Healthfinder.gov, a web site sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, features Alcohol Awareness Month in its National Health Observance Toolkit for April.

Healthfinder.gov highlights warning signs of alcohol abuse, which include:
-Drinking alone when you feel sad or angry
-Absence from or lateness to work due to drinking
-Drinking to a point that worries your family
-Forgetting what you did while drinking
-Suffering from headaches or a hangover after drinking

The site also provides a sample media announcement about Alcohol Awareness Month that can be used in a newsletter or listserve. Seeking more statistics? A pdf of “talking points” for Alcohol Awareness Month available via the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) provides facts about alcohol-impaired driving. For example, more than 10,000 people were killed in alcohol-related driving accidents in the United States in 2010.

And check out the downloadable infographic on the link between alcohol abuse and an increased risk for prescription drug abuse. The graphic and details from researchers at the University of Michigan are available at drugsdb.com. The data are particularly relevant to this year’s focus on underage drinking: they show that prescription drug abuse has increased significantly in recent years among young adults aged 18 to 24 years, although rates of drinking and alcohol abuse have remained relatively steady.

Posted on: April 17, 2012, 12:51 pm Category: Health Information Resources Tagged with: , , ,

By: heidisp

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World to See Blue During Autism Awareness Month

The Sydney Opera House, Michigan’s Mackinac Bridge, the Paris Stock Exchange and the Empire State Building are just a few of the world’s landmarks that will be lit blue in recognition of Autism Awareness Month. April brings more than rain showers; it brings the spotlight to a disorder that affects tens of millions of people across the globe.

“Light It Up Blue” is a global initiative of Autism Speaks to raise awareness of autism, a term used to describe a complex of developmental brain disorders, also known as autism spectrum disorders. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one in 88 American children is on the autism spectrum (and it occurs more often in boys), a ten-fold increase in prevalence in the last 40 years. According to Autism Speaks, these disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors. They include autistic disorder, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) and Asperger syndrome.

Myriad resources exist online for those looking to learn more about Autism and to help draw attention to this disorder during April and beyond.

  • National Autism Center: The National Autism Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) by providing reliable information, promoting best practices, and offering comprehensive resources for families, practitioners, and communities.
  • Autism Speaks: Autism Speaks is the nation’s largest autism science and advocacy organization, dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism; increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders; and advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families. Web site information includes information on diagnosis, symptoms, treatment and family services. A special “100 Day Kit” created specifically for newly diagnosed families helps them make the best possible use of the first 100 days following their child’s diagnosis.

 

 

Posted on: April 10, 2012, 3:32 pm Category: Health in the News, Health Information Resources Tagged with: , , , ,

By: jbluethmann

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