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MINUTES <br /> ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH <br /> March 26, 2025 <br /> Motion to approve the Orange County Health Department Strategic Plan was made by Dr. <br /> Aparna Jonnal, seconded by Dr. Shielda Rodgers, and carried without dissent. <br /> B. Resolution Addressing Social Media Use, Screen Time, and Youth Mental Health <br /> Jean Phillips-Weiner, Board of Health Strategic Plan Manager, presented the resolution draft on <br /> behalf of the Behavioral Health Committee and requested feedback. <br /> Dr. Royce expressed trepidation about the resolution endorsing a specific book, The Anxious <br /> Generation, in part due to potential accessibility issues. Ms. Phillips-Weiner assured her that <br /> copies of this book are available at both public libraries in Orange County and that there is also <br /> an associated website with relevant data and information. Dr. Jonnal suggested making copies <br /> of the book available at schools, as teens may also benefit from reading it. Ms. Stewart said that <br /> the health department can help make some copies of the book available, especially during <br /> events such as Screen-Free Week. <br /> Several other board members echoed concerns about endorsing a specific book. After some <br /> discussion, the board agreed to instead "encourage parents and young people to explore the <br /> resources listed below" (that is, at the end of the resolution), which include The Anxious <br /> Generation. To ensure clarity, the board recommended also numbering the pages of the <br /> resolution as I of 2" and "2 of 2." <br /> Dr. Stuebe suggested adding a QR code so that anyone with a printed copy of the resolution <br /> can still access the resources digitally. <br /> Dr. Rodgers noted that this resolution gets pretty specific and, though we can't guarantee that <br /> all these things will happen, it is useful to make the board's stance known as the resolution can <br /> be used in the future to help guide health department programming. <br /> Dr. Royce asked about the intended audience for the resolution, to which Commissioner Fowler <br /> explained that it can be sent to multiple audiences —the BOCC, the school boards, and the NC <br /> General Assembly—as they are relevant to the expressed goals of the resolution. She added <br /> that the items relevant to parents can be shared through the health department and BOCC <br /> websites, as well as through the schools. Mr. Whitaker noted that, because there isn't a clear <br /> intended audience, there is more flexibility in how the resolution can be used to support future <br /> initiatives and requests. Dr. Rodgers agreed, saying that this is a statement of the board's <br /> position that can be used for future advocacy as needed. She noted that often resolutions serve <br /> just to make a unified opinion publicly known, sharing that some faculty at UNC recently passed <br /> a resolution opposing negative comments about a staff member involved in DEI programming. <br /> Dr. Jonnal wondered if we could add a request for the establishment of a task force to work on <br /> screens and young people, as the Board of Health will not be able to do all the work on this. She <br /> added that enforcement and monitoring would need to be considered over time. Dr. Rodgers <br /> said that she wasn't sure if a resolution should have that level of specificity, since a resolution <br /> containing dozen actions for the board may never be passed and likely will never be executed, <br /> as the bandwidth of the Board of Health is limited. She noted that collaboration is needed. <br /> Dr. Stuebe expressed support for collaborating with libraries, as people can borrow many <br /> screen-free activities from the library for free, including board games and books. <br /> S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agendas &Abstracts\2025 Agenda and Abstracts/ <br /> March Page 8 <br />