Sometimes you have to hear things more than once before they sink in. I know this because my dental hygienist had to nag me about 20 times before I actually started flossing regularly.

Part of the government's job is the same as my dental hygienist's: governments at the federal, state, and local levels are charged with helping their citizens improve their health, and sometimes this involves telling them over, and over, and over again to get a flu shot or eat healthier foods.

Web 2.0 technologies provide new ways for government agencies to get the word out. The federal government has been making big strides, but agencies at the state and local level have been slower to catch on: some have social media sites but don't update them regularly, and others at the state or local level haven't even started to make use of these. OhMyGov recently cruised some of the existing social media efforts of government in the area of health. In no particular order, here are 8 that stood out from the pack:

The CDC on YouTube

The CDC is really stepping up to the plate in using social media. Over the winter months, the agency has been focusing its media on flu and swine flu prevention. The YouTube channel features several helpful videos on these topics, providing information on symptoms, explanation of antiviral drugs, and even instruction on how to give Tamiflu capsules to young children, given that the liquid version of the drug is in short supply.

Other videos from the CDC provide information on HIV/AIDS, STDs, and cancer. My favorite video, though, was from the section on childhood immunizations. In "Get the Picture: Child Immunizations" a CDC pediatrician talks to mothers of young children about childhood immunizations. Coffee cups in hand, the mothers sit around a living room and ask a series of hard-hitting questions about vaccines (almost making you believe the CDC hired a group of investigative journalists as actors). Early in the conversation, a heavily made-up mom asks if vaccines cause autism. The pediatrician deftly handles this concern, noting that autism is both "serious" and "heart-wrenching," but that no studies have shown connections between vaccines and this condition. In this and other videos, the CDC provides an authoritative voice on issues about which the public may often be confused or lacking information.

CDC Widgets

In the area of government agencies promoting wellness, the CDC is the biggest user of widgets. Most widgets contain information on flu or swine flu, but others provide information on smoking and tobacco use or various tips for good health. My favorites were those that used data in a very pithy way. Plug your height and weight into the Adult BMI Calculator, and a split second later it will tell you if you're underweight, normal, overweight, or obese. Then there are the widgets that provide nuggets from the wealth of data the CDC collects. The Public Health Data and Statistics widget has recently featured charts on the leading causes of infant deaths in the U.S., cancer incidence by sex, and diabetes and obesity rates by region. The FluView National Flu Activity Map is color-coded to show the amount of flu activity in each state, updated weekly.

Alabama Department of Public Health on Facebook

The Alabama Department of Public Health's (ADPH) Facebook page stands out among other government agency's health-related pages because it is updated frequently and contains useful information on a variety of health topics even in the midst of flu season. One recent post advertised Scale Back Alabama, a yearly, state-wide weight loss campaign-which also has its own Facebook group. Other posts have promoted a new asthma program run by the state, a CDC fact sheet on birth defects, and the agency's weekly electronic newsletter about the state's H1N1 influenza vaccination efforts. Lots of health topics, lots of information sources, and lots of updates make for a solid Facebook page.

New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on Twitter

New York City's health department is using Twitter to keep residents up-to-date on local health issues. On January 12, the health department used Twitter to solicit public comments on a proposed system to grade restaurants' sanitary conditions. The health department's Twitter account has also aggregated health information from other New York City government Twitter accounts through retweets that advertize the NYC Condom and the free use of recreation centers during the city's BeFitNYC Week.

MyPyramid.gov on Twitter

With last week's news that a recent CDC study found one in five teenagers has unhealthy cholesterol levels, now is a good time for our nation to renew its attention to eating a healthy diet. This Twitter feed from the USDA is here to help, with reminders to eat whole grains, "eat a variety of foods from each food group every day," and avoid using vitamin tablets as a substitute for a well-balanced diet.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on YouTube

Sure, this topic may seem like a downer amidst our celebration of government 2.0. But the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is perhaps the most innovative agency on this list in harnessing social media to safeguard citizens' health. Not content to merely use YouTube to post videos, this 24/7 suicide prevention hotline has partnered with the social networking site to address circumstances in which YouTube users post content that promotes suicide or suggests they are at risk. A page in YouTube's Help section refers users to the Lifeline and notes that users can flag videos for review by the YouTube team if the videos promote suicide. You can learn more about the Lifeline and even view a segment from Dr. Phil by visiting the Lifeline's YouTube site.

Massachusetts Department of Public Health blog

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has the best blog that I found in my searches. It's updated about two times per week with well-organized information that includes a Weekly Flu Report. Other recent posts have discussed Governor Patrick's promotion of the H1N1 vaccine, the importance of breastfeeding, and getting more exercise. Most impressive were the blog's efforts to be inclusive of the Spanish-speaking population by including some posts in this language and to engage citizens through sections that allow them to ask questions of a dental hygienist and a nutritionist.

Health and Human Services (HHS) "I'm a Flu Fighter" Facebook app

As announced earlier this month on The White House Blog and OhMyGov, HHS has partnered with a nonprofit called HealthySocial to produce a Facebook app that lets people tell their friends they've been vaccinated. You start by choosing a character (such as the grimacing flu virus below) and indicate whether they've gotten the flu vaccine yet and how it was. The app then allows you to publish this information to your own wall and your friends' walls.

When I tried it out, my main complaint was that the app wasn't more interactive, like a fun game. With only about 1 in 5 Americans vaccinated for swine flu, I'm guessing it's gonna take a real killer app (a 3-D flu monster, perhaps?) to get the point across.