Health-care professionals can play an important role in raising awareness, in the health sector and in the broader community, of media effects on children and youth. They can:

• support and promote research concerning the effects of media on the physical, social and psychological development of children and young people
  
  
• speak to other health practitioners, parent groups and community organizations about media influences and the importance of media education for young people. 
  
  A Media Pulse professional development workshop is available free of charge to health practitioners who wish to deliver a media awareness presentation to colleagues. For information on how to obtain the workshop contact MNet at mediapulse@media-awareness.ca.
  
  
• encourage health associations and organizations to develop policy or position statements on media and children, using the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) statements as models (see right sidebar)
  
  
• visit MNet’s Lesson Library to access over 300 lessons on media-related topics, including tobacco advertising, nutrition, body image, consumerism and violence – lessons that can be easily adapted for community health programming
  
  
• write a letter to the editor or an opinion piece for a local, community or national newspaper on media issues of concern (see the Writing a Letter to the Editor and Writing an Op-Ed tipsheets in right sidebar)
  
  
• contact media industries to comment on objectionable content and to express support for good-quality media, since producers, broadcasters and advertisers listen to consumer feedback, and a letter, fax or e-mail from a health practitioner or association can carry a lot of weight (see Take Action in right sidebar for tips on how to voice an opinion)