"There are lots of consumer health sites," he says, "but if they have any information about youth health it is usually in the family section and is aimed at the parents, not the youths themselves."

That led MacDonald and others to create a Web site aimed specifically at young Canadians. Health4Kids is designed to answer some of the most pressing questions young people have regarding health matters.

MacDonald said the designers first went to the source and asked youths what they wanted in a health information site. They discovered the most pressing need was for help in doing homework assignments related to health care, so the first option available to visitors is Homework Central. The other options are the REAL Health Magazine and Hot (and Cool) Health News. The information is written for an adolescent audience but maintains the quality expected from Health Canada.

MacDonald said testing involving students from the Ottawa area showed that visitors use the site not only to answer their immediate questions but also to search for answers to more personal questions about their own health. Topics like alcohol and drug use, smoking, suicide and sex are covered.

Another site worth pointing young patients toward is the Yahooligans health page, which is similar to the main Yahoo site because of its structured directories of information. However, this information is aimed at a younger audience. The quality of the health content found at Yahooligans is not as high as that at Health4Kids, but there is a wider range of links. — Michael OReilly, mike@oreilly.net

Copyright 2001 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors