State Information for Idaho
![State of Idaho](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20080916014025im_/http://nnlm.gov/pnr/images/states/ID.jpg)
Situated between Washington and Montana, and touching borders with Oregon, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming to the south, Idaho is the 14th largest state in the US with 83,500 square miles. 63% of the state is public land managed by the federal government, and the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness is the largest wilderness in the contiguous US. The state contains 44 counties, and 19.4% of the population resides in "frontier" counties. The largest county is Idaho County with 8,500 square miles, and the most populous is Ada County, containing the capital and largest city of Boise, with 383,000 residents.
Idaho has a population of 1.4 million according to the 2006 U.S. Bureau of the Census Population Estimates Program. Idaho's population is 87% white, 9.1% Hispanic, 1.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, with 1.3% reporting more than one ethnicity. The total American Indian and Alaska Native population is 16,656, ranking Idaho as 30th in the country. Idaho tribal organizations include Coeur d'Alene, Confederated Salish and Kootenai, Nez Perce, Northwest Band of Shoshone, and the Shoshone-Bannock.
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Locate Idaho NN/LM Members
The directory of Idaho members of the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) includes health libraries, public libraries, and community-based organizations in the state that provide quality health information.
Library and Information Professional Resources
- The Regional Medical
Library (RML) for the Pacific Northwest Region
(PNR) is:
- University of Washington, Health Sciences Libraries and Information Center (HSL), Seattle, Washington.
- Idaho's NN/LM Resource Library is:
- Idaho Health Sciences Library, Pocatello.
- Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Medical Library Association (PNC/MLA) includes Oregon as part of a regional organization of medical librarians and health information professionals in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Washington and two regions of Canada (Alberta and British Columbia), and is an official chapter of the Medical Library Association (MLA).
- E-Licensing Consortia contains links to consortium agreement programs among libraries in the Pacific Northwest Region, including Idaho's Libraries Linking Idaho program.
- Idaho Commission For
Libraries (formerly the Idaho State Library)
assists libraries to build the capacity to better serve
their clientele. The Commission houses a professional
library development collection to serve as a resource
for libraries and librarians in the state.
- The Libraries Linking Idaho (LiLI) (formerly the is a collection of online services providing full-text articles from journals, magazines newspapers, and reference books with free access for Idaho residents.
- Idaho does not have an American Library Association (ALA)-accredited library and information studies school, but distance education programs are available.
- Idaho Library Association is the state association promoting the organization and development of better library service in the State of Idaho.
State Health and Statistics Information
- CommunityHealth is a web portal for locating reliable health information in north Idaho for health care providers, consumers, and public librarians.
- FastStats, from the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), are a quick reference to state birth and death rates with links to additional report data.
- Idaho Health, from the state Department of Health & Welfare, is a gateway for health services and information in Idaho including Medicaid, public health, and health websites such as RxIdaho.org.
- Idaho Health Information Association is an organization promoting the dissemination of health information to health professionals in Idaho.
- Quick Health Data Online, from the Office on Women's Health, is a database of comprehensive health data for both women and men searchable by state and county.
- State Health Facts Online, sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation, provides current state health data on topics such as demographics, insurance coverage and health status.
- State and Local Health Data Sets, from Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce (PHPartners), includes a comprehensive list of resources containing state-specific public health information.
- Trust for America's Health, a non-profit and non-partisan disease prevention organization, provides state and national health indicators, federal funding levels, health disparities and statistics regarding cancer and birth defects tracking.
State General Information
- Idaho.gov is Idaho's official state government website.
- Official State Travel Planner, from Idaho's Department of Commerce, includes cities, events, maps, news, travel, tourism and weather.
- Idaho Quick Facts, from the U.S. Census Bureau, provides current state population, business and geographical facts.
Special Populations
This section includes groups of individuals who share common characteristics that are distinctive from the general population. These characteristics may include racial and/or ethnic background, socioeconomic status, geographic location, and age. The characteristics of special populations are important to be aware of as they can affect the population's health status.
- EthnoMed, from the HSL and Harborview Medical Center, contains medical and cultural information for health care providers and related professions regarding different immigrant and refugee populations in the Pacific Northwest region.
- Frontier Education Center, from the National Center for Frontier Communities, defines characteristics of frontier counties and contains maps, reports on special health needs of frontier populations, and policy issues.
- Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Health (GLBT), from Public Health Seattle & King County, contains resources about GLBT health concerns, health issues, and local/national GLBT resources.
- Idaho Rural Health Association advocates for rural health issues and improving the health of rural Idahoans through communication, education, and establishing appropriate and equitable health care resources and services.
- Indian Health Service - Portland Area Office is the federal health program for American Indians and Alaska Natives residing in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
- Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, a tribal organization, represents the health care interests of 43 federally recognized tribes in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
- Refugee Health Information Network (RHIN) is a database of quality multilingual public health resources for those providing care to resettled refugees and asylees.
- Rural health and human services, from the US Department of Health and Human Services Rural Assistance Center, is a web portal of Idaho rural health contacts, organizations, tools, maps, news and events.
Medically Underserved Areas/Populations (MUA/Ps)
MUA/Ps are areas or populations designated by the Shortage Designation Branch, part of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as not having sufficient access to medical care. If an area is designated MUA, then the entire population is covered, if the designation is MUP, only a specific population is. Occasionally, regions receive a designation of GOV, which means that the state governor requested that the area be included due to local barriers and/or health conditions. The MUA/P designation is often important when obtaining grants or other funding. The most accurate and up-to-date source of this information is the HRSA database.
Government Information Resources
- FedStats provides access to statistics prepared by over 100 federal agencies. Statistics are available on a state and community level.
- Google Search <Uncle Sam> searches government information on all levels using the standard Google interface and algorithm.
- State and Local Government on the Net provides links to government information on a state and local level for the fifty states, as well as selected US territories.
- USA.gov provides a search engine and subject indexes for US state and federal information.
Additional Resources
- 2-1-1 Idaho CareLine assists residents in locating health and human services providers and has a searchable directory of community resources.
- Idaho Bioterrorism Awareness and Preparedness Program (IBAPP) from Idaho State University provides bioterrorism and emergency preparedness training to Idaho's healthcare workers through free online classes and a virtual training place (Play2Train)
- Idaho Bureau of Homeland Security contains current safety and emergency management information, with preparedness guides and additional resources in a document library.
- Boise State Radio is a public broadcast radio station on AM 730 in Boise and AM 1450 in Twin Falls
- Idaho Statesman, Idaho and Boise regional newspaper.