U of M Taking Charge of Your Health Website wins Health Care Standard of Excellence Award from Web Marketing Association

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (Oct. 24, 2007)--Taking Charge of Your Health, a Web site for consumers created by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Spirituality & Healing in collaboration with The Life Science Foundation, has been awarded the Health Care Standard of Excellence from the Web Marketing Association. The award, part of the 2007 WebAwards competition, recognized the site for “outstanding achievement in website development.” Other winners included Walt Disney Internet Group, UPS Whiteboard, and Biggs/Gilmore Agency.

Taking Charge of Your Health is a free, interactive Web site that provides tools and resources to help consumers make informed health care choices. The site, http://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/, invites visitors to expand their options with complementary and alternative therapies; become more informed and involved health care consumers; and care for overall body, mind, and spirit. Created by nationally-recognized experts (many from the University of Minnesota), the site features three main sections that help consumers make proactive choices about health and well-being:

• Explore Complementary Therapies offers solid background on a wide array of complementary and alternative therapies.
• Create a Healthy Lifestyle links visitors to My Health Planner, an online tool to help create, track, and achieve health-related goals.
• Navigate the Healthcare System provides a virtual “roadmap” for consumers as they select a provider, deal with insurance, or face a health crisis.

Traditionally, the general public has relied on doctors to direct their health care. But with today’s office visits lasting an average of just 15 minutes, health care providers have limited time to address patients’ questions and needs – transferring responsibility back to the public.

“The reality is that we all must take personal responsibility for our own health and wellness, and the best way to make wise decisions is to have easy access to credible information,” said Center Director Mary Jo Kreitzer, R.N., Ph.D. “Our goal in creating Taking Charge of Your Health was to provide practical information that helps people make healthy lifestyle changes, learn to better navigate the health care system, and explore integrating complementary therapies and healing practices with conventional care.”

National Institutes of Health (NIH) studies indicate that a majority of Americans have used some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) such as massage, meditation, acupuncture, and aromatherapy in the past. The Explore Complementary Therapies section of the Web site offers insights into a variety of these “non-conventional” therapies: what they are, information on safety and effectiveness, and how and when to use the therapies.

While making healthy lifestyle choices sounds simple, the trick is sticking to them. The Create Healthy Lifestyles section helps users make it doable. People face choices every day – what to eat, how much to exercise, and how to manage stress. These choices profoundly impact people’s health, including what chronic diseases they might face. This section provides valuable tips and allows users to track their goals making it easier to maintain a recommended body weight, commit to an exercise program, or take steps to master stress.

The Navigate the Healthcare System section shows consumers how to get the most out of their doctor visits. The section explains how to find credible health information on the web, find a good health care provider, evaluate treatment options, help ensure healthy hospitalizations, and better understand health insurance.

For more information about the Center for Spirituality & Healing, please visit www.csh.umn.edu. To learn more about The Life Science Foundation, go to www.lifesciencefoundation.org/.

About the Center for Spirituality & Healing: Recognized nationally as a resource and leader in integrated health, the University of Minnesota's Center for Spirituality & Healing's goal is to transform health care by educating health professionals and students about complementary therapies and healing practices, conducting rigorous scientific research into complementary and non-pharmacological interventions, providing meaningful outreach programs, and working with partners to develop integrative clinical services. The inspiration behind the Center’s work is the knowledge that health and well-being are enhanced when the best of complementary and conventional care are integrated.

About The Life Science Foundation: The Life Science Foundation, a non-profit organization located in Excelsior, Minnesota, is dedicated to the exploration of one of life’s greatest mysteries—the relationship between the material and spiritual worlds. The Foundation seeks to support and partner with organizations, institutions, and individuals that strive to discover and apply new and ancient understandings to medicine, in particular Complementary and Alternative Medicines; the new sciences; intuition; and to other relevant disciplines. The Life Science Foundation is committed to serving the public’s education in these areas.

Contact: Tony Baisley, Center for Spirituality & Healing, 612-624-2141
Laura Stroup, Academic Health Center, 612-624-5680