Keystone State practitioners have launched their second annual Pennsylvania Teen Health Week to raise public understanding and overcome certain stereotypes associated with adolescent health.
Although some facets of young adults’ well-being have been addressed individually, the practitioner group wanted to formalize their approach. Gov. Tom Wolf supported the kickoff event Monday in Harrisburg.
Event organizers prepared resources in the form of a toolkit for schools relating the subject to academia, branding it in lime green with the Twitter hashtag: #PATeenHealthWeek2017.
Founder Dr. Laura Offutt hopes the campaign will help to clarify the atmosphere surrounding teen health by addressing common false impressions.
“[When] you talk to teens, they think adults don’t really care about their health,” Offutt said, adding that adults in turn believe teens themselves lack concern simply because they make mistakes. “This is a week that pulls together teens and adults, both in and outside of health care, to show that this is just so obviously not true, on either end.”
Additionally, many adults think that the subject is only about sexuality, inhibiting attendance, Offutt said.
Participants hope that the event ultimately results in greater nationwide participation along with positive future outcomes when teens mature by instilling knowledge and tools now.
