Health Education Services posted a new Students’ Self-Care Guide online two weeks ago, providing a new resource for students to use in making informed decisions about their health.
The guide contains information on common health problems such as the flu and sports injuries, and also has a “Playing it Safe” section that includes information on alcohol and drug safety as well as sexual health and other tests and immunizations. According to the website, the guide is not intended to substitute for expert medical advice or treatment.
The website also contains a “Lifestyle Issues” component that stresses the importance of eating well, sleeping enough and exercising properly in good health.
In contrast to MyStudentBody.com, another new web-based information source also recently posted on the Health Education website that focuses primarily on student alcohol use, the new self-care guide has a wider base of health information.
According to Carol Day, director of Health Education Services, a hard copy of the self-guide has previously been distributed to first-year students. By posting it online, however, Day said that the self-care guide has become more accessible to all students at the University.
For each health issue on the website, the guide provides information on causes and risk factors, signs, symptoms and treatment. Additionally, the self-guide provides direction about when a student should see or call a health-care provider and when self-care alone is sufficient.
“It sounds like a great idea because it helps you diagnose yourself and work through your own symptoms to find what could be bothering you. From my pont of view this is a great idea,” said Peer Educator Rod Verdegaal (SFS ‘04).
Health Education Services worked with an outside company that wrote the guide for Georgetown students. According to Day, Health Education Services based its decision on the input of doctors and nurse practitioners in the Georgetown Medical Center, in addition to a positive response from students at other universities.
