Categories: Apps: Internet & NetworksApps: Lifestyle

Top Health Resources You Can Trust

The Internet, of course, is replete with information on the most diverse topics. Health is no exception. Many Websites offer information on illnesses, disorders and treatments. However, looking at symptoms and explanations online, people sometimes self-diagnose and it may lead to friction between doctors and patients. An interesting account of what health resources were in the not so distant past is related in the following text:

There are reams of health information online – from medical reference books to discussion groups, whose members not only exchange health tips but also upload useful articles and information that they’ve researched.

America Online

The better health & medical forum (keyword: Health) offers the Home Medical Guide, containing information on diseases, disorders, and treatments. The forum also features discussion groups, such as: Lifestyles and Wellness; Mental Health and Addictions; Human Sexuality; Patients‘ Rights; Health Reform and Insurance; Seniors’ Health and Caregiving; and Alternative Medicine. AOL also offers Health News, a database of health-related articles, as well as Health Focus, where journalists and lay folk alike share articles, insights, and information on medical issues.

Compuserve

Healthnet (Go NHT-289) offers the Health-Net Reference Library, which is similar to AOL’s Better Health and Medical Forum. In the Health/Fitness section, CompuServe offers the online version of the Consumer Reports Complete Drug Reference, as well as several discussion groups whose topics range from Attention Deficit Disorder to 12-Step Programs. Another feature of the section, Health Database is a professional medical periodicals library; you can search for articles by entering keywords, and download matches for $1.50 apiece.

Prodigy

Health/Fitness: Prodigy offers several bulletin boards devoted to health issues (Health & Lifestyles, Medical Support, Crohn’s & Colitis, and Keeping Fit), as well as online medical resources such as Consumer Reports Health and Fitness (the online version of the reference book) and HealthNews (a database of health-related articles).

Another database, Health Topics, offers easy-to-understand articles on the following topics: Wellness; Children; Brain and Behaviour; diseases; Exercise and Sports; and Hot Topics (a sampler of late-breaking health news reports).

The Internet

The U.S. government, as well as some universities, support several health-related bulletin boards, some of which you must dial up directly (which means a toll-call if you don’t live in the area) and some to which you can telnet, a communications mode that allows you to access various sites as if they were on your own computer. Here are some of the better health boards on the Net.

FDA electronic Bulletin Board: Monitored by the US Food and Drug Administration, this board offers news about drug safety, information on approved products, new information about AIDS, and articles on medical consumer issues.

NIH Information Center: The National Institutes of Health bbs offers a vast quantity of information on diseases (articles, studies, fact-sheets) as well as updates on goings-on at the institutes.

Able Inform BBS: Funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), this board offers five databases full of lengthy articles and other useful information about disabilities and treatments.

Arizona Health Sciences Library: From its home page on the World Wide Web, you can link to a number of different databases, ranging from those devoted to public health issues, nutrition, smoking cessation, pediatric car, as well as the library itself.