Teenage Health Freak

Teenage Health Freak is a web-based attempt to provide accurate, relevant, and reliable health information to teenagers in a contemporary, entertaining, and engaging way. The format, which includes new content available daily, is designed to enable young people to "take effective responsibility for their health-related actions within an appropriate moral framework". The two sites are:

• Pete Payne's online diary: Pete is a hypochondriac teenager who updates his diary daily with his worries and traumas, plus those of his family and friends. Pete soon discovers Dr Ann's site and his diary often links off to it for information on his latest health worry.
• Dr. Ann's site: Dr. Ann is Pete's friendly virtual doctor. Here, she provides honest, evidence-based medical information about common teenage health worries - drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, contraception, weight, depression, puberty, pimples, etc. - written in what is intended to be an entertaining and up-to-date style. Pete appears throughout. Students can "eavesdrop" on the advice given to other teenagers and email the doctor in confidence with their own health questions: "Got a question for the doc? Ask it here - especially if it's about drugs, alcohol and smoking - we want to know!"
  

A link from the main Teenage Health Freak site also includes a link to the separate but related Youthhealthtalk, a website about young people's real-life experiences of health and lifestyle. It features not just the medical facts, but, rather, real young people talking about their own health experiences.

Although designed for teenagers, Teenage Health Freak sites include information that can also be used by parents, teachers, and health professionals. The sites are accompanied by teachers' resources, available online.

Youth, Health.

In November 2001, the Health Freak sites won the Bupa Communication Award, which aims to encourage the improvement of effective communication between the medical profession and patients.