It’s important that families feel confident and empowered when they come away from a Cook Children’s visit with written information that clearly and specifically addresses their health concerns.

Cook Children’s strives to consistently provide take-home educational resources at each visit across the system, from the primary care and specialty clinics to urgent care and the medical center. Materials are regularly updated with the latest knowledge and research and vetted for accuracy. And they utilize friendly formatting to emphasize key points in plain language -- no medical jargon, in other words.

Megan Chavez, VP of Patient and Family Experience at Cook Children’s, calls these resources an investment in care that reduces inequities, provides a reference for what was discussed in person, and ultimately improves the health and well-being of the child and family. Reliable and pertinent education from their doctor allows families to feel better equipped. They can refer back to it later if questions come up.

“We want patients and families to be active in their care,” Chavez said. “And to do that, they need the education and information that our care teams have. It helps them be arm-in-arm with us as we work together to understand what is best for their child.”

Patient families routinely tell Cook Children’s that they consider the education materials a vital component of their experience. Whether a child is receiving a complex diagnosis, a new treatment, or a routine checkup with the pediatrician, this education helps to ensure care continues into the home. Written guidance provides insights and instructions that can help prevent complications from occurring.

What’s the source? Licensed content comes from companies that specialize in patient education and that continually update the information. Additionally, more than 950 custom handouts created by the experts at Cook Children’s are reviewed every three years, or sooner if needed. That systematic approach helps to ensure the materials are fresh and verified. The Patient Education and Health Literacy Council at Cook Children’s works behind the scenes to maintain high standards. 

Topics include information about diagnosis and treatment, safe use of medications, pain management, diet modifications, rehabilitation, symptoms of worsening condition, and much more. For instance: A variety of handouts about migraines address how to manage chronic headaches, lifestyle reminders, sleep habits, occipital nerve block and other content. Handouts about asthma address such topics as asthma triggers, inhaler use and a diagram of child lungs -- available in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Swahili and multiple other languages.

Appearance matters too. The materials are colorful, illustrated and arranged with frequent bullet points, bold type and subheadings that create an attractive page design. Some include checklists or blank lines for the patient caregiver to write notes. 

“One of the things we hear from our patient families a lot is, ‘What do I need to do when I get home?’ We want to make sure we provide our families with consistent, understandable information to help them take care of their child. It’s so important,” Chavez said.

She cited these benefits of routine distribution of education materials:

• Families can detect infection or other concerns earlier, and head off any issues before they worsen. Trips to the Urgent Care and Emergency Department are reduced.
• When families receive accurate and updated resources that they can count on from Cook Children’s, they are less likely to need to search for answers online from sources that might be inaccurate or outdated. 
• For patient families who don’t speak English fluently, the written handouts support the conversations they have with their doctors. Many of the educational resources at Cook Children’s are available in Spanish or other languages. 

The resources at Cook Children’s also are mindful of health literacy, which is defined as a person’s ability to understand and use statistics and other information in decisions regarding health care. Health literacy goes beyond the ability to read; it involves interpreting medical facts, evaluating risks, and knowing how to take action. Stress, distractions, pain and sleep deprivation play a role in how well we can understand information. 

American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) recommends using simple words, short sentences and visual aids to improve health literacy. Written materials increase patient satisfaction and knowledge compared to verbal instructions alone, the AAFP points out. The organization reports that more than one-third of U.S. adults have limitations in health literacy, such as following directions on a prescription drug label. 

“Probably most people who have a sixth-grade education can read a prescription label, but because of limited health literacy, they may not be able to take action and comprehend the next steps of what to do with it,” said Suzanne Beckett, director of Library Services at Cook Children’s. 

In addition to the printed handouts, online fact sheets at Health Resources (cookchildrens.org) cover topics as varied as childbirth and newborn care to puberty and teen mental health. The online Health Resources also includes access to a drug database, episodes of the Doc Talk podcast, and a link to request information from a Cook Children’s librarian. 

As a bonus, the new MyCookChildren's app includes a feature that allows families to reach out to the Family Health Library for additional reliable information.

Chavez encourages the families of patients to request reference materials at their appointments to ensure they know what to expect, the next steps and anything they should be monitoring at home. She described the handouts as a tool to build knowledge, confidence and relationships between patients and health care providers.

“It also ensures that we're able to attain our Promise, which is improving the health and well-being of our kiddos,” she said. “It's in our DNA to make sure that our families are part of our care team. This is one of the ways we do it. Connecting those dots and making those investments help us do the things that we all value.”

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The professional librarians at the Matusik Family Health Library are here to help. The library, located on the first floor of the medical center, serves all Cook Children’s patient families. Ask for a health information packet prepared just for you or contact a librarian here: Family Health Library (cookchildrens.org)

I am against giving phones as gifts because a gift signifies ownership. It has been made clear in our household that when he does receive a smartphone, it will be a privilege, not a gift, and the phone will belong to me and his mother, on our plan, paid for by family funds. Before we go further, please understand that my wife has a Juris Doctorate and was a practicing attorney prior to having children. So, my kids are well versed in making sound arguments.

With this in mind, he did come at us with a well thought out argument. He expressed his understanding of certain rules we have shared with him from previous queries, listing would-be imposed limits and other restrictions. He eloquently delivered his argument with style and grace – and then my wife and I used even more eloquence to deny his request with mutual style and grace. Although we have shared our age restriction with him in the past, I suppose he didn’t see any harm in trying. Our agreed upon age for his first phone is 12.

Giving him a bit of credit for his argument, I decided to do a little more research from angles outside of my expertise. I found several articles on the subject. A new report from Influence Central’s 2016 Digital Trends Study titled, “Kids & Tech: The Evolution of Today’s Digital Natives”  found the average now for getting a first phone is 10.3 years old.

With what I do for a living, and as a parent, I found information from the report interesting:

• Twenty-seven percent of parents now use online programs to control and filter sites or platforms, compared to 23 percent four years earlier. Parents, I highly recommend doing this. Click here and see the helpful links to learn more on my thoughts on this topic.
• Not enough parents are using smartphones’ GPS to track down their kids, but parents are catching on – the number increased to 15 percent in 2016, compared to only 7 in 2012.
• Fifty percent of kids have social media accounts by age 12 and 11 percent got a social media account when they were younger than 10. If I’m not ready to let my son have a smartphone at 10, I’m sure not ready for him to dive into social media.

I understand it’s beneficial for some parents to allow access to a mobile phone at a younger age than others – if the phone is limited. In our situation, we really don’t need our boys to have phones. My wife homeschools our kids, we live out in the country and use two-way radios on property. We don’t drop them off at places such as malls or theme parks on their own. Sure, those days will come, but not just yet. Families will differ greatly. Both parents may work, the kids may ride the bus home after school, etc.

Allowing a young child to have full use of a smartphone can lead to trouble. I am a little leery about 12 years old, so I would definitely not recommend it for a child under that age without heavy restrictions. Free apps that can be easily downloaded can allow the child to meet total strangers online. A child that young simply doesn’t have the maturity level to deal with the types of situations they are likely to encounter.

If you do find yourself in a situation where your younger child having a cell phone would bring peace of mind and make your life easier, go basic. Get the cheapest, most basic phone offered, do not allow data usage, and limit the phones ability to call other phone numbers. Once you have the phone, you can log onto your providers website (Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile, etc.) and set restrictions on the phone. And, yes, you can limit the phone’s ability to only be able to call you and your spouse’s numbers, grandparents, neighbors, etc.

For my wife and I, we have the luxury of waiting until we are reasonably sure he is mature enough to handle the responsibility. But, if we did have a need for him to have a phone now, it would be very limited.

Rest assured, once that day comes, I will be monitoring his activity closely.

Related links

• To Spy Or Not To Spy?
• Want to protect your kids from online predators? Be a snoop.
• 7 dangerous Apps that parents need to know
• 7 things that make an App dangerous
• Uncovering the risks of cell phones

I suppose, being an ex-soldier and a father, I do have some experience; however, I am not a political analyst, a military history buff, nor a philosopher who dwells deeply on the meaning of such things. This being an oft politicized issue, it can be controversial for some.

So, before I begin, allow me to say these are solely my views expressed as an ex-soldier and a loving father.

In order for my children to truly understand, they must first learn to appreciate life and all of the comforts and freedoms they have. I must teach them to appreciate these things while also teaching them that not everyone in the world has as much. I must teach them fairness, honor, integrity, and the value of hard work.

I must teach them that life is not a race to obtain more than others; rather, it is a balance where your achievements should be measured internally, not outwardly. While this lesson is being learned, I must nurture a caring spirit within them. I must, by example, show them how to empathize and sympathize with others. In order for them to understand, they must also be able to empathize with the pain, suffering, hunger, of others.

Once my children are mature enough to begin to understand, I show them the freedoms we have in the United States of America. I give them examples of life goals they may wish to set for themselves and how they have the freedom to work hard to chase their dreams. Once I feel they truly appreciate everything they have while empathizing with those who do not, only then do I explain why men and women join the military, for only then can they truly appreciate the sacrifice people are willing to make in order to preserve our way of life.

The military is not for everyone and I know no soldier who harbors any disrespect for anyone who does not join. It is quite the opposite. Most soldiers join because they feel deep patriotism, they value the rights and freedoms we have in the United States of America, and they care deeply about preserving those rights and freedoms for everyone in this country.

As for Memorial Day, it is not about honoring soldiers; rather, it is about remembering and honoring those men and women who paid the ultimate price for our freedoms. They were mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, daughters and sons who gave their lives defending our rights and freedoms.

Some people might say that Memorial Day should not be an excuse to have a picnic with your family or to throw a barbecue. I don’t see it that way. While I think we should acknowledge those fallen soldiers who fought for our freedoms, I also think celebrating those freedoms, building bonds with family and friends, and rejoicing in the fact that those freedoms are still ever present is the best way to honor them.

With that, I bid you a Happy Memorial Day!

About the author

Jody S. Hawkins, Information Systems Security Officer, has been in technology for medical facilities since early 2000 and has been practicing for more than 20 years with his start in the United States Air Force. He is a part of Cook Children's Experts on Call Speakers Bureau. Hawkins specializes in privacy and technology safety and is a regular speaker at the National HIT/HIPAA Conference. He has been quoted and published in several national publications, including Health Information Management Magazine.

Hawkins' can speak on a variety of security topics facing our children & parents today, including:

• Social media
• Cyber bullying
• Sexting
• Safety online (Parents & Child)
• General home networking security
• Virtual Child (Parents)
• Internet Safety (Parents & Child)

It took that long to outrage a country from what was seen and heard by members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at the University of Oklahoma chanting a racial epithet on a bus.

While the video shows that we haven’t progressed as far as most of us would like as a society, it also proves once again that our children need to learn the life-changing consequences of going viral.

Jody S. Hawkins, Information Systems Security Officer at Cook Children’s, gives a presentation to children called, “The Virtual World.” He explains the permanence of everything we post to the Internet.

“Like a face tattoo, the things your child posts to the Internet in public forums could be discoverable by potential college recruiters, employers or those out to paint your child’s character in a negative way,” Hawkins said. “What does your child aspire to be when he or she grows up? Are the things your children are doing on the Internet today going to have a negative impact on that career choice?”

Considering the speed of today’s technology, it’s important for kids to understand that everything they do is permanent, even if it’s been deleted. Thanks to screen shots, a careless text message can be frozen in time and put on social networking sites, forever subject to public scrutiny.

Hawkins recommends parents talk with their kids and express the need for self-control when they interact with others, even when they aren’t speaking face-to-face. Explain the importance of cooling off before sending that angry text message, commenting on a blog or posting an aggressive Facebook status. And if someone is doing something inappropriate, walk away or don’t participate. Everyone has a recording device in their hands these days.

A study from the University of Massachusetts’ Center for Market Research found that 21 percent of college admissions offices research their applicants via social media sites. An offensive blog post could overrule a stellar SAT score and change a university’s admission invitation.

“Kids don’t think about the harms they could be causing themselves,” Hawkins said. “They tend to have this, ‘Look ma, no hands’ mentality while we watch them and freak out. But those split second decisions can have forever consequences.”

About the source

Jody S. Hawkins, Information Systems Security Officer, has been in technology for medical facilities since early 2000 and has been practicing for more than 20 years with his start in the United States Air Force. He is a part of Cook Children's Experts on Call Speakers Bureau. Hawkins specializes in privacy and technology safety and is a regular speaker at the National HIT/HIPAA Conference. He has been quoted and published in several national publications, including Health Information Management Magazine.

Hawkins' can speak on a variety of security topics facing our children & parents today, including:

• Social media
• Cyber bullying
• Sexting
• Safety online (Parents & Child)
• General home networking security
• Virtual Child (Parents)
• Internet Safety (Parents & Child)