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Free Consumer Health Web Resources from the Library

Posted March 26, 2008

One of the most common reasons people search the internet is to locate consumer health information - that is, reliable, easy to understand information about medical conditions, treatments, prevention and more. It is important to remember the wealth of results from a general Google search may not actually be trustworthy for medical assistance and increasing your health literacy. Instead, try starting in one of these recommended health and medicine free web resources:

Medline Plus
http://medlineplus.gov/
This is the online presence of the National Institutes of Health. It is wide ranging in scope providing information on health topics, drug information, clinical trials and interactive tutorials. Many of the features on this site are also available in Spanish.

Health A-Z Your Family Health Site
https://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/clients/haz/general/custom/default.jsp
Here the A-Z entries have expert authored entries with the dates of the most recent revisions listed. The site includes a Personal Health Center with tools to manage weight loss and smoking cessation. One of the outstanding features of this site is its Nurse Chat. A registered nurse is available 24/7 to handle all manner of health questions in a realtime chat environment.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov/
This site offers good statistical data, growth charts and health management tools. It includes information on birth defects, disabilities, emergency preparedness and response, environmental health, health promotion and traveler’s health. The content is also available in Spanish.

Food and Nutrition Information
http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/nutrition.html
Produced by the American Dietetic Association this site provides information on food management and safety as well as a wide array of nutrition topics. It offers annual reviews of popular diets and has links to international organizations and government initiatives.

NIH Senior Health.gov
http://nihseniorhealth.gov/
Developed by the National Institute on Aging, the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health this site attempts to be accessible to its target users. It is possible to change site design features such as text size, contrast and speech options. Content is offered in question and answer format with common topics presented in alphabetical order.

In addition to these free web resources that anyone can use, also check out the great subscription databases that the Library subscribes to for the Simmons community. See recommended article and reference databases on the Library Research Guides for health and medicine: http://my.simmons.edu/library/research_guides/

For more information on health and medical resources, to get assistance with research, or arrange for a research session in a class, contact Simmons Health Studies Librarian, Vivienne Piroli, x2752 vivienne.piroli@simmons.edu

 

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