Net gain for Alberta parents

CHRIS SIMNETT
AHS Communications

Parenting can be as diffi­cult and daunting a job as the Internet is huge and full of misinformation.

Now an Alberta Health Services pro­gram is help­ing parents get the reliable information they need from the World Wide Web.

3 Cheers for the Early Years, based out of Calgary, helps parents of children up to six years of age provide the best care for their rapidly developing youngsters. Earlier this year, the program launched an e_health marketing initiative designed to reach computer-savvy parents throughout the province ... and the world.

"Our specific target audience is actively seeking information online," says Yvette Biggs, the social marketing facilitator for the program.

"You can have a great web­site but people aren't really hit­ting websites. They’re doing a Google search and blogs are what pop up most often."

However, Biggs estimates 85 per cent of online health information and opinion is being produced by non-health professionals. Google ‘vaccinations’ and you'll find more than 5.4 million results that provide conflicting and often incorrect information.

E_health marketing is de­signed to drive parents to cred­ible online information penned by health professionals at Al­berta Health Services.

The first phase of the project involves e_health cards and audio tips.

"Let's say I have a mom who has some concerns about vac­cinations," says Biggs. "We can send her an e-card and, when she clicks on it, she is directed to the vaccination in­formation on our website. She can then forward the card to other moms she may know."

The 3 Cheers website also includes 15 parenting au­dio tips, as well as buttons individuals can add to their per­sonal webpages that will direct visitors to the e-cards and audio tips.

There are more than 350 par­enting blogs in Alberta alone, Biggs points out.

"We know every time some­one is hitting that button, they’re getting correct and updated in­formation," she says.

Since the e_health market­ing program began in February, there have been about 2,500 hits to the e-cards site and more than 1,200 hits on the audio tips.

Staff and parents are embrac­ing the new program.

Susan Hass, a young family wellness co-ordinator based in Okotoks (45 kilometres south of Calgary), says the e-cards are an effective method to remind people about their appoint­ments, a task that took more time and effort when done with mail and telephone calls.

"This is more convenient and efficient for nurses and fami­lies," says Hass. "Also, with an e-card, we can know it was re­ceived and even if the person opened it."

New mom Jennifer Pinch also loves the e-cards.

When the public health nurse went in for her first appointment with her young child, she received a lot of information on paper.

"It stayed on my counter for three weeks before I had time to look at it," Pinch says.

"During that same period, I was online at least 10 times. Online is where a lot of people spend their time. It’s great this information can come to me online."