Health Literacy Month
For more than 20 years, October has been recognized as Health Literacy Month.
Health Literacy Month is when a wide range of organizations work together to promote the importance of providing understandable and actionable health information. While low health literacy is more prevalent among older adults, it also impacts minority populations and medically underserved people. Research shows that addressing health literacy can help increase the use of preventive health care and improve health outcomes.
As we bring Health Literacy Month to a close, Taylor Stafford, a Parent Health Educator with Healthy Futures of Texas, provides tips for having healthy conversations and sharing information between parents or caregivers and their teens.
To help close the health literacy gap among caregivers and teens in Texas, we invite caregivers to join us for FREE webinars!
Taylor Stafford | Parent Health Educator
What are three things every teen should know about sexual health?
- “Every teen should know about sexual reproduction and anatomy. You really can’t know how to prevent unwanted pregnancy and STIs if you aren’t sure how our bodies work in general.
- Teens should also know about contraceptive methods. There are many methods meant to keep us safe. As a teen growing up, I only knew about condoms, and it wasn’t anything I learned about from an adult. There isn’t a one size fits all for contraceptive methods, and it’s important for teens to know their options and which ones can be used together to prevent STIs and unwanted pregnancy.
- Teens should know boundaries and consent. They should know that they have a right to say no and that consent can be given or taken at any time. As adults, many of us still struggle with consent and boundaries.”
