www.YouthHealthTalk.org launches ‘Living life with greater challenges’
29 Oct 07
Young people with chronic (long-term) medical conditions can read about, or listen to, other teenagers and young adults who have experienced living with illness at www.youthhealthtalk.org, part of the award winning DIPEx patient website based on Oxford University research.
The new section of YouthHealthTalk, ‘Living life with greater challenges,’ was launched on 29 October 2007, and is funded by the Expert Patient’s Programme. It is a website where young people talk, in video, audio clips, and transcripts, backed up by first class medical information and high quality research carried out by Maria Salinas at the Department of Primary Health Care at Oxford University.Having a chronic condition increases the complexity of young people’s lives. On the new site 31 young people from different social and ethnic backgrounds, all with chronic conditions, diagnosed as children, teens, or as young adults, describe the challenges they face dealing with illnesses including asthma; chronic eczema; chronic pain; congenital heart problems; cystic fibrosis; epilepsy; HIV/AIDS; juvenile arthritis; kidney disease; chronic fatigue syndrome; (CFS/ME); morphea (a skin disease); muscular dystrophy; sickle cell disease; scoliosis and type 1 diabetes.
Dr Ann McPherson, Medical Director of the DIPEx research group, said: ‘As ‘YouthHealthTalk’ is the direct voice of young people, it provides healthcare professionals with information they will not be able to get elsewhere. It tells them that young people want information about sex, contraception and drugs, they want to know how their medicine might affect alcohol and their weight, and that more must be done by schools and services to help when the going gets tough.’
The issues explored on the site include discussions of symptoms and diagnosis; staying in hospital; information needs; patient-doctor relationship and communication with the healthcare team; physical problems; medication and managing a chronic condition; feelings and emotions; lifestyle; school; university and work; contraception and pregnancy; family support; friends and relationships. The site has received support from Jon Snow; Jenny Agutter; John Humphreys; Phillip Pullman; Polly Toynbee; Thom York from Radiohead, and Jacqueline Wilson, the Children’s Laureate.
Thom Yorke said: ‘YouthHealthTalk is a valuable asset to those who get lost and pulled under. There must be nothing worse than to be ill and alone with no real understanding of your situation. Other people’s stories are the way that we cope.’ The launch on Monday evening at Delfina, London Bridge, includes guest speaker Dr Sheila Shribman (National Clinical Director for Children and Young People), Ann Keen, Parliamentary under-secretary for Health, and young people who have shared their stories for the website.