Websites

American Heart Association The American Heart Association (AHA) is a not-for-profit, voluntary health organization funded by private contributions. Its mission is to reduce disability and death from cardiovascular diseases and stroke. The AHA recently adopted a Strategic Driving Force to provide reliable information to the American public on prevention and treatment of heart disease and stroke. To be successful, AHA seeks to be proficient in four Key Work Processes:

• Discover, interpret and process science.
• Develop and communicate consumer health information.
• Advocate the Association’s positions to key audiences.
• Generate Resources

Information from the American Heart Association may be accessed at http://www.americanheart.org. *

American Statistical Association The Survey Research Methods Section provides information about survey research, including the series "What is a Survey?" "What are Focus Groups?" "What is a Margin of Error?" and information about privacy and ethics. http://www.amstat.org/ *

Basic Priority Rating Model For a description of the Basic Priority Rating Model, see the chapter entitled "Setting Health Priorities and Establishing Objectives" in the Healthy People 2010 Tool Kit, which you can access at http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/state/toolkit.

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is the state-based surveillance system of the CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP). Active in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and three territories, it is the primary source of state-based information about risk behaviors among adult populations. The BRFSS is designed to gather information from adults about their knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to various health issues:

• Health status and access to care
• Tobacco and alcohol use
• Dietary patterns
• Leisure time physical activities
• Injury control
• Women’s health issues
• Use of preventive services
• HIV and AIDS

Information about the BRFSS may be accessed at http://www.cdc.gov/brfss/

Best Practices Home Page This searchable database contains over 1,000 proven solutions from more than 120 countries to the common social, economic and environmental problems of an urbanizing world. It demonstrates the practical ways in which communities, governments, and the private sector are working together to improve governance, eradicate poverty, provide access to shelter, land and basic services, protect the environment and support economic development. Best Practices Home Page is located at http://www.bestpractices.org/. *

Best Practices Information The Best Practices Ad Hoc Committee in the GSA Office of Governmentwide Policy developed principles to help initiate the Best Practices Program and identify "best practices." The Best Practices Principles are described at http://www.itpolicy.gsa.gov/.

CDC Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention CDC’s Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (HDSP) is located in the Division of Adult and Community Health of the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. HDSP activities include epidemiologic surveillance and research, intervention studies, and public health programs related to cardiovascular health. The Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention may be accessed at http://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/.

CDC Wonder CDC Wonder is and easy-to-use system that provides a single point of access to a wide variety of CDC reports, guidelines, and numeric public health data. CDC wonder may be accessed at http://wonder.cdc.gov/.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Main Site The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is composed of 11 Centers, Institutes, and Offices dedicated to promoting health and quality of life by preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability through scientific inquiry. You can access the CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov.

Census Information To access the Statistical Abstract of the United States and other Census information, go to the U.S. Census Bureau at http://www.census.gov.

Claritas’ Compass System - PRIZM PRIZM defines every neighborhood in the United States in terms of 62 demographically and behaviorally distinct clusters. A precision tool for lifestyle segmentation and analysis, PRIZM offers an easy way to identify, understand, and target consumers down to the block level. Claritas’ Compass System - PRIZM is located at http://www.claritas.com/claritas/Default.jsp?ci=3&si=4&pn=prizmne

Healthy People 2010 Healthy People 2010 is a national health promotion and disease prevention initiative that brings together national, state, and local government agencies; non-profit, voluntary, and professional organizations; businesses; communities; and individuals to improve the health of all Americans, eliminate disparities in health, and improve years and quality of healthy life.

Healthy People 2010 may be accessed a http://www.health.gov/healthypeople

Lexis-Nexis To find out about news media searches, go to http://www.lexis.com/

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) is CDC’s weekly forum that publishes articles on health topics and events and also disseminates state-reported surveillance data on new cases of reportable diseases such as AIDS, hepatitis, or flu. You can access the MMWR at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/.

National Center for Health Statistics The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) makes available statistical information for a wide range of health problems. Through the NCHS web site, you can view and print out many published and unpublished reports. The NCHS web page also links to other web sites of federal and non-federal agencies that publish health data. National Center for Health Statistics 3700 East-West Highway Hyattsville, MD 20782 (301) 436-8500 http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Chartbook The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Chartbook is a biennial compilation of data on the size and trends of morbidity and mortality from the cardiovascular, lung, and blood diseases. While most charts describe national prevalence, hospitalizations, and mortality statistics, some of them provide additional information by state or country. Risk factor estimates and the economic costs of these diseases are also included. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Chartbook may be accessed at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/index.htm.

National Library of Medicine To conduct health-related data base searches, you can go to the National Library of Medicine’s web site at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/databases/index.html.

The National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health conducts research to acquire knowledge of prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases and disability. The NIH is composed of 18 Institutes, six centers, and the National Library of Medicine. You can contact the NLH at http://www.nih.gov and the National Library of medicine at http://www.nlm.nih.gov.

NHANES The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is a survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), part of the CDC. This survey has been designed to collect information about the health and diet of people in the United States. NHANES is unique in that it combines a home interview with health tests which are done in a Mobile Exam Center. Information about NHANES may be accessed at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm.

Office of Human Subjects Research Protection Ethical issues are embedded in all facets of intervention. Any attempt to intervene, even with the best of intentions, carries with it ethical decisions and moral dilemmas. For information regarding ethical issues, begin with the DHHS’s Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) which is located at http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/.

Office of Minority Health The Office of Minority Health (OMH) was created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 1985. The mission of OMH is to improve the health of racial and ethnic populations through the development of effective health policies and programs that help to eliminate disparities in health. The main site of the OMH may be accessed at http://www.omhrc.gov/.

Also included in this site are links to State Offices of Minority Health, the Office of Minority Health Resources Center, and various other links.

Other Agencies You may want to examine other agencies’ web sites (e.g., Healthfinder: http://www.healthfinder.gov ; Department of Health and Human Services:http://www.os.dhhs.gov ; Department of Justice: http://www.usdoj.gov ; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: http://www.nhtsa.gov).

Planned Approach to Community Health (PATCH) The Planned Approach to Community Health (PATCH), developed by the CDC and its partners, is widely recognized as an effective model for planning, conducting, and evaluating community health promotion and disease prevention programs. It is used by diverse communities in the United States and several nations to address a variety of health concerns such as cardiovascular disease, HIV, Injuries, teen pregnancy, and access to health care. The PATCH Guide contains "how to" information on the process, things to consider when adapting the process to your community, and sample overheads and handout materials. You’ll find PATCH at http://wonder.cdc.gov/wonder/prevguid/p0000064/p0000064.asp.

Principles of Community Engagement Principles of Community Engagement provides public health professionals and community leaders with a science base and practical guidelines for engaging the public in community decision-making and action for health promotion, health protection, and disease prevention. The material provided can help public health professionals and community leaders improve communication, promote common understanding, and strengthen coordination, collaboration, and partnerships efforts among themselves and community members and institutions. You will find Principles of Community Engagement at http://www.cdc.gov/phppo/pce/index.htm.

Population Group Statement For an example of problem statements for population groups, access the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion’s "Minority and Ethnic Groups" page at http://www.cdc.gov/omh/default.htm or the Office of Smoking and Health’s population statements at http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/specpop.htm.

Roper Center for Public Opinion Research To find public opinion data, go to the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at the University of Connecticut http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu. *

State and Local Health Departments Most state health departments can provide state and local data for various health problems through offices of vital records and/or health statistics, and policy. State and local health department listings can be accessed through the American Public Health Association at http://www.cdc.gov.

THOMAS Information about Congress’s activities, legislation, and committee activities, including text of House and Senate bills, can be found through THOMAS, an on-line system of databases provided by the Library of Congress. THOMAS may be accessed at http://thomas.loc.gov.

Women and Heart Disease: An Atlas of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Mortality Women and Heart Disease: An Atlas of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Mortality was developed by the Office for Social Environment and Health Research at West Virginia University and the Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention at CDC to provide critical data on geographic, racial, and ethnic inequalities in women’s heart disease death rates for the five major racial and ethnic groups. Local, state, and national level data are included with information to tailor heart-healthy programs and policies to the communities of women with the greatest burden of heart disease. You may access Women and Heart Disease: An Atlas of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Mortality at: http://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/library/maps/cvdatlas/atlas_womens/.

Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) is a national, school-based survey conducted by CDC and state and local education agencies. The YRBSS provides vital information on risk behaviors among young people to more effectively target and improve health programs. One component of this system is the Youth Risk Behavior System (YRBS). Information about the YRBS may be accessed at http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/yrbs/index.htm.

American Dietetic Association http://www.eatright.org *

American College of Cardiology http://www.acc.org *

Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum http://www.apiahf.org *

Association of Black Cardiologists (Note: This web site is best viewed in I.E.) http://www.abcardio.org *

Association of State and Territorial Chronic Disease Program Directors http://www.chronicdisease.org/ *

California Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention Program http://www.dhs.ca.gov/ps/cdic/chdsp/

Cardiovision 2020 http://www.cardiovision2020.org *

Cross Cultural Health Care Program http://www.xculture.org *

Division of Disability and Health http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/dh/

Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity, CD http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/gis.htm

Heart Failure Awareness Campaign http://www.abouthf.org *

Heart Failure Society of America http://www.hfsa.org *

Heart at Work Online Program http://www.americanheart.org/haw *

International Society for Hypertension in Blacks (ISHIB) http://www.ishib.org *

International Task Force for Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease http://www.chd-taskforce.de *

Kids Walk to School http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/kidswalk/

Lipid Health http://www.lipidhealth.org *

National Alliance of Hispanic Health http://www.hispanichealth.org/ *

National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease http://www.womenheart.org *

Shape Up America http://shapeup.org *

USPHS Indian Health Service/Office of Public Health and/or Office of Communications http://www.ihs.gov

American Heart Journal http://www.medscape.com/viewpublication/129_index

American Journal of Cardiology http://www.elsevier.com/inca/publications/store/5/2/5/0/4/8

American Journal of Epidemiology http://aje.oupjournals.org *

American Journal of Hypertension http://www.elsevier.com/inca/publications/store/5/0/5/7/4/2/index.htt

American Journal of Public Health http://www.ajph.org *

Medline Medline is the major index to articles from more than 4,600 biomedical journals from 1966 to present. Access Medline at http://www.pubmed.gov/.

Additional Databases

Some specific secondary datasets may also be useful:

Arbitron http://www.arbitron.com

DDB Needham’s Lifestyle http://www.ddb.com/

MediaMark Research, Inc. http://www.mediamark.com

Port Novelli’s Adult HealthStyle http://www.porternovelli.com

Search Engines

Gateway The NLM Gateway allows users to search in multiple retrieval systems at the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM). http://gateway.nlm.nih.gov/gw/Cmd

Health Education Research (Journal) http://her.oupjournals.org/ *

Journal of Health Education http://www.aahperd.org/iejhe/ *

DES Formative Research DES _Formative _Research.pdf (PDF 343K)

Draft Expert Report Draft_Expert_Report.pdf (PDF 1,882K)

Draft Web Lit Review Draft_Web_Lit_Review.pdf (PDF 1,298K)

FA Focus Topline FA_Focus_Toplines.pdf (PDF 714K)

FA Formative Research FA_Formative_Research.pdf (PDF 4,62K)

A Focus Group Report on Adolescent Behaviors, Perceptions, Values and Attitudes on Health, Nutrition, and Physical Activity This California Project LEAN document summarizes findings from focus groups with adolescents as part of their formative research for the physical activity and nutrition campaign. CV-LEAN_Focus_Group_Formative_Research.pdf (PDF 1,062K)

Healthstyle National survey of women’s knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors about health. This data can be broken down on a regional level by race/ethnicity, age, and other factors. Healthstyles.pdf (PDF 135K)

Issues in Cross-Cultural Communication These documents, provided by the Office of Communication at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, provide information about effective communication with diverse groups of individuals.

• CV-CrossculHuan2.pdf (PDF 1,088K)
• CV-culture.pdf (PDF 1,514K)
• CV-crosscult.resources.pdf (PDF 137K)
• CV-cross.cult.tool2.pdf (PDF 123K)
• CV-Top 10 things to know about cross.pdf (PDF 27K)
• CV-Crosscult.LITREVI2.pdf (PDF 687K)

Physical Activity Formative Research Physical_Activity _Formative_Research.pdf (PDF 5,566K)

Research Report Research_Report.pdf (PDF 4,855K)

Survey Summary Survey_Summary.pdf (PDF 15K)

Teen Epilepsy Topline Teen_Epilepsy_Topline.pdf (PDF 194K)

Goldberg,J., Rudd,R., & Dietz,W. (1999). Using 3 data sources and methods to shape a nutrition campaign. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 99(6), 717-722.

Marcus,B., Owen,N., Forsyth,L.H., Cavill,N.A., & Fridinger,F. (1998). Physical activity interventions using mass media, print, and information technology. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 15(4), 362-377.

Owen,N., Bauman,A., Booth,M., Oldenburg,B., & Magnus,P. (1995). Social mass-media campaigns to promote physical activity: Reinforcing or redundant. American Journal of Public Health, 85(2), 244-248.

Perez-Escamilla,R., Himmelgreen,D., Bonello,H., Peng,Y., Mengual,G., Gonzalez,A., Mendez,I., Cruz,J., & Phillips,L. (2000). Marketing nutrition among urban Latinos: The Salud campaign. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 100(6), 698-701.

Reger,B., Wootan,M., & Booth-Butterfield,S. (1999a). Using mass media to promote healthy eating: A community based demonstration project. Preventive Medicine, 29, 414-421.

Reger,B., Wootan,M., & Booth-Butterfield,S. (1999b). Using mass media to promote healthy eating: A community-based demonstration project. Preventive Medicine, 29, 414-421.

Reger,B., Wootan,M., Booth-Butterfield,S., & Smith,H. (1998). 1% or Less: A community-based nutrition campaign. Public Health Reports, 113, 410-419.

Wallack, L., Dorfman, L. Jernigan, D, Themba, M. (1993). Media Advocacy and Public health. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.