Healthy dose of instruction
Student Health Services offers a monthly e-letter on timely student health issues.
DVD players, iPods, and coffeemakers come with instructional manuals, but for the most complicated of all — the human body — we’re often left pretty much on our own. To keep our bodies running as well as our iPods, Boston University’s Office of Student Health Services has created a monthly electronic newsletter on student health issues.
“There is a ton of bad information on the Web about health,” says David McBride, director of Student Health Services (SHS). “I think that SHS needs to start to be more proactive about disseminating health information and doing it in a format that’s understandable and usable to students.”
The first newsletter was published in October and focused on overcoming homesickness and treating and preventing the common cold, which the newsletter describes as the “most common infectious disease in the United States.”
“Mainly the newsletter will be a way for SHS to communicate to students what’s going on in the world of student health, and it will be an informative way for students to better understand their health,” says Chris Valadao, SHS assistant director.
Future newsletters will touch on some of the most important health issues facing students today; these range from sexually transmitted diseases to birth control to behavioral medicine, says Valadao. In addition, the newsletters will contain announcements regarding workshops and clinics, such as the flu clinic being held Wednesday, November 15, from noon to 7 p.m. at the Fitness and Recreation Center.
To receive a copy of the newsletter in your inbox each month, add your e-mail address to the subscription list on the SHS Web site. SHS assures students that all e-mail addresses will be kept confidential.