A shortage of health professionals and health care resources in Central Pennsylvania has encouraged Penn State to respond with a new Creating Health outreach program.

The Creating Health program uses the Penn State broadcasting channel WPSX-TV, which has teamed up with WITF-TV, a Harrisburg channel. The program reaches Penn State students and branches out to more than 40 counties in Pennsylvania through the stations' television program.

The television show focuses on a new topic each month, informing viewers on health topics that range from osteoporosis and cardiovascular health to diabetes. Creating Health's goal is for people to watch the programs on television and have access to more health information, said Marilyn Corbin, assistant director of Penn State Cooperative Extension and co-director of the Creating Health project.

The project reaches Central Pennsylvania through the television programs that air about 13 times each month. The information can also be accessed through their Web site.

In addition to the information available on the Web site, the program also offers county extension educators. Two-thirds of Pennsylvania's physicians are located in three urban counties, which are outside of the program's targeted area, Corbin said.

In contrast, there is one extension educator in every county who is better able to reach the communities.

The extension educators are available to meet with groups such as community walking clubs or to come into home economics classes to reach a younger audience, encouraging children to develop healthy habits at an early age, Corbin said.

"This is a great way to show that we are an engaged university and we can address critical needs of people through research-based education programs," Corbin said. "It helps and enables people to make better educated decisions."

Creating Health had its first program air this month on osteoporosis. The program is 30 minutes long and focuses on three case studies of the disease.

Corbin said the program tries to encourage everyone to be aware of things such as how much calcium is in their diet. She said there is a "calcium crisis" among children and teenagers and that youth is the time to start to build healthy habits.

"With so many things to worry about now, it seems hard to worry about something that could happen 40 years down the road." Matt Yanoff (freshman-physics) said.

The program also tries to emphasize that it's not just older women who are affected by osteoporosis and that everyone should be aware of the risks.

"As of now, I'm not concerned, but I'm sure I'll have to think about it in the future," Midori Valdivia (freshman-international politics) said.

"We all want to be healthy," Corbin said. "The better we can learn about health prevention practices, the more likelihood we will prevent illness and disease later in life."

One of the case studies in the program is about a female athlete from Penn State who has been affected by osteoporosis. The Web site also says that age and sex are not the only risk factors for osteoporosis. Medical background, diet and eating disorders, and also family history are factors that can have an affect. The Web site offers a quiz to determine if you are at risk by answering a few questions on your background and lifestyle. In addition to the risk assessment test, the Web site also offers a page on myths about osteoporosis, a frequently asked questions page and a page on osteoporosis testing.