To support your health programming strategy, here are October health programing ideas – brought to you by The Pulse, part of the Gale’s Health and Wellness Resource Center.
More than 3.5 billion prescriptions were dispensed by doctors in the United States in 2007, and an estimated twenty percent of patients admit taking prescriptions for non-medical reasons. Prescription drug abuse is now the drug problem with the fastest growth rate in the United States. It is considered an epidemic among both adults and adolescents.
Because so many teens and adults do not realize the dangers and prevalence of prescription drug abuse, raising awareness is the first step to solving the problem. Find ways to talk about prescription drugs at your library this October with these resources and with information from Gale’s Health and Wellness Resource Center.
- Quick and Easy: printable coloring pages for children and helpful print-ready information for adults.
- Featured Resources: books for children and their caregivers and links to reliable online information
- Book Club: books for children and their caregivers and links to reliable online information
- Tie Ins: books for children and their caregivers and links to reliable online information
- Community Resources: local agencies to contact
- Publicity Resources: free resources to help you publicize Talk About Prescriptions Month at your library through social networking sites or traditional printed materials
- Fun Stuff: links to interactive websites and apps
Quick and Easy
For Children
- Coloring Book: Dougie the Drug Dog
- Coloring Pages: Dougie the Drug Dog
For Teens
Books
Trustworthy Online Resources
Book Club
Identical by Ellen Hopkins (Simon & Shuster, 2008)
From the publisher:
“Kaeleigh and Raeanne Gardella, identical twins, live in a posh California neighborhood. Their father is a well-known district court judge and their mother a politician. On the surface they are the perfect American family, but beneath the façade lies a damaged family. Raeanne is the aggressive twin, the one who is sexually promiscuous—giving sex in return for drugs; she craves sexual attention from anyone, including her father. Kaeleigh is the quiet one, the one most like her mother, and the victim of her father’s sexual advances. Haunted by this, Kaeleigh has difficulty letting any boy close and deals with her pain by cutting. Torn apart by a tragic event, the twins’ parents hardly speak. Their mother spends her time on the campaign trail; their father lives at home where he drinks, abuses Oxycontin, and controls his daughters’ every move—from the clothes they wear to the places they go. Both girls have an eating disorder, and as they spiral into more dangerous depths, the story takes a surprising twist. One twin will need to step up. But who?”
Tie Ins – Teen Time
Teen Night / Teen Art, Writing, or Drama Club
Halloween / Teen Writing, Film, CSI, or Drama Club
Teens create a gory “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” or other similar TV episode involving prescription drug abuse. Practice and perform to parents, classrooms or other teens and each other at a Halloween party at the library.
“Relieve-the-Stress Fest”
Get ready for mid-terms by learning how to de-stress naturally with yoga, another form of exercise, sports, dance, or more.
Community Resources
Find a professional to speak at your library or find help for your library customers.
- The American Medicine Chest Challenge:
- Prescription Assistance Programs
Publicity Resources
Use these free publicity resources alongside your library’s October programming information – newsletter, blog, posters, or fliers – to promote Talk About Prescriptions Month at your library this October.
- The National Council on Patient Information and Education
- Archive of material from past Talk About Prescriptions Months: 2000-2011. Includes radio and tv public service announcements, press releases, ideas, educational resources, posters and brochures in both Spanish and English.
- Scholastic and National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
- Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
Fun Stuff
Add these interesting and helpful interactive links to your library’s website, Facebook page, or Twitter feed:
36.041289
-115.246333
Like this:
Like Loading...