KidsHealth

Health literacy was an important topic during last year’s M2W®-HC™ and one that continues to be discussed throughout numerous circles in the healthcare and pharma industries. We recently ran across a site that not only hopes to increase the health literacy of moms, but is reaching out to kids and teens—an innovative concept that has created new conversations with consumers and has opened the door to exciting brand partnerships.

The site, KidsHealth.org, is divided into three separate sections (parents, kids and teens). We recently talked with the site’s editor-in-chief, Dr. Neil Izenberg, to get additional insight into why KidsHealth.org has become a popular online destination for moms and their children and what they look for in their healthcare and pharma partners.

Q: What is the purpose of the KidsHealth site and why did you decide to divide it between information for parents, kids, and teens?

Dr. Neil Izenberg: From our very beginning, we felt that families needed and deserved up-to-date, medically reviewed information that was free of doctor-speak and jargon. So many medical and health sites are just too difficult to understand. We also wanted to emphasize the emotional aspects of health conditions as well as the more usual physical aspects. We describe KidsHealth as providing knowledge, perspective, advice, and comfort.

Most children’s health websites create content only for parents – but we wanted to provide information to kids and teens, too. That probably come from the fact that our group is led by experienced pediatricians who know how important it is that kids and teens get their own voice. Kids and teens have their own concerns and ways of understanding. So, right from the beginning, we developed teams of editors, writers, and designers that each focus on parents, kids, and teens. We help family members understand each other a bit better, too.
Of course, it’s got to be entertaining and engaging. Our users, of all ages, tell us through their emails and site evaluations that they love us – so we seem to be resonating with them.

Q: Why is health literacy important for kids and teens?

NI: Health literacy goes beyond just being able to read. It means understanding a range of key concepts that really impact how well and how long you live. Kids and teens naturally are quite curious about how their bodies work, what’s going to happen with them, and how they can be healthier and prevent bad things happening to them. They’re used to going online for all sorts of information, including about their growth, health, and development. Obviously, the more they understand, the more likely it is that they can be healthy – both physically and emotionally.

Q: You have a lot of hospital/medical center partnerships. Can you tell us a little about the overall partnership concept?

NI: KidsHealth partners with a number of wonderful organizations. For example, KidsHealth provides online educational content to more than 50 of the nation’s top children’s hospitals and over 250 community hospitals. KidsHealth also works with media groups, insurance companies, government agencies, and many well-known brands that are favorites with moms. Through these partnerships, KidsHealth provides expertise to develop engaging educational and pro-social campaigns for parents, kids, and teens such as our recent work with NBA/WNBA FIT, PBS KIDS Sprout, Cheerios, Sesame Workshop, Merck, the Michael Phelps Foundation, and others.

Q: What do you look for in a partner?

NI: We love to find and work with the right organizations. Our expertise is all about parents, kids, and teens – and about how to create programs in various media that positively affect them. As the #1 resource for children’s health information, we are constantly approached by organizations and brands about various types of partnerships. We want a partnership to be mutually beneficial. From our perspective, we want to see that our partner’s perspective and mission resonate with ours. And, of course, we want to see that their products are good for families and kids.

Q: Other than the KidsHealth site, what other products, services, or campaigns do you currently have? And, what exciting things do you have on the horizon?

NI: In addition to KidsHealth.org and our various campaigns with partners, KidsHealth is developing a number of innovative solutions for health care. For example, we’re one of the largest developers for hospitals of at-the-bedside health education for families, we create solutions that help health organizations incorporate educational information for families right within their patient-accessible health record, and we’re developing a number of really exciting Smartphone applications. Stay tuned for that. There are just so many exciting ways new media, through a range of devices, can bring inspiring, motivating, and information-packed content to parents, kids, and teens – wherever they are.