Planning for the health and safety of those attending mass gatherings is an enormous challenge for local officials. Mass gatherings are defined as those attracting more than 1,000 participants and include events like the Olympics, Super Bowl, religious services conducted by the Pope, state funerals, and presidential inaugurations. Public health concerns range from ensuring adequate drinking water, food safety, first aid, and toilet facilities to planning for the extremes of possible major accidents, dangerous weather and even terrorist threats.

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) has compiled a Web page of links to information on the public health aspects of planning for all kinds of mass gatherings, http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/massgatherings.html. These resources include a search of PubMed for medical journal article citations as well as documents from government and other sources. Topics include preparedness for large numbers of casualties and management of disease outbreaks.

Health tips for those attending inauguration weekend outdoor activities are available from the US Department of Health and Human Services at http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2009pres/01/20090112a.html.

For more information on the Disaster Information Management Research Center at NLM, please visit http://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov/

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123128697040459161.html
By Laura Landro
The Wall Street Journal
January 7, 2009
This article includes some tips on the differences between commercial and government/nonprofit web sites. It also includes reviews on two National Library Of Medicine websites: HazMap (http://hazmap.nlm.nih.gov) and ToxTown site  (http://www.toxtown.nlm.nih.gov)

It’s a new series of classes presented by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, MidContinental Region! We’re focusing on the “spotlight” aspect - choosing limited websites on which to focus, and practice time with exercises in each monthly session. The first is “Update on PubMed” - presented by Rebecca Brown on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009 for one hour - 1:00 MT, 2:00 CT.
This online training is FREE, and requires no registration. All you need is a computer with Internet access and a phone. All classes can be accessed by going to https://webmeeting.nih.gov/mcrupdate and log in as a guest. The series is targeted for the fourth Wednesday each month. Upcoming dates and topics include:

• Feb. 25 -MedlinePlus and the Household Products Database
• March 25 - Educational Resources for Kids
• April 22 - Drug Resources

In Other Words…Health and Health Literacy Information Resources From the National Library of Medicine
By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L
On Call Magazine, December 4, 2008

The NLM is part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. It is the largest medical library in the world and contains numerous databases and electronic resources. A PubMed search, though, can return an overwhelming list of resources. This article highlights ways to narrow searches so users can more quickly find the specific materials they need. http://www.healthliteracy.com/articles.asp and http://www.boston.com/jobs/healthcare/oncall/

{kudos to blog readers Helen Osborne and Marcia Zorn for this article and thanks for the mention of BHIC!]

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/news/odds_apha_blueribbon.html
The National Library of Medicine’s traveling exhibition, Against the Odds: Making a Difference in Global Health http://apps.nlm.nih.gov/againsttheodds/index.cfm , earned a best exhibit blue ribbon at the American Public Health Association (APHA) 2008 meeting. Schools of public health that would like to host the traveling exhibition can contact the Association of Schools of Public Health http://www.asph.org/index.cfm. The Association is coordinating the tour of the exhibit to schools of public health with support from the Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Work Force http://phpartners.org/

A new version of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) Drug Information Portal was released in October.  The portal now covers over 16,000 drugs.
http://druginfo.nlm.nih.gov
The Drug Information Portal is a free Web resource from the NLM that provides an informative, user friendly entry-way to current drug information for over 16,000 drugs. Links to sources span the breadth of NLM, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other government agencies. Current information regarding consumer health, clinical trials, AIDS–related drug information, MeSH pharmacological actions, PubMed biomedical literature, and physical properties and structure is easily retrieved by searching on a drug name. A varied selection of focused topics in medicine and drug–related information is also available from displayed subject headings.

View the online version of  Everyday Miracles: Medical Imagery in Ex-Votos at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/exvotos/ It is a new small exhibition on display at the U.S. National Library of Medicine® (NLM®), and explores the relationship between faith and healing as expressed in the personal devotional paintings from Italy and Mexico. Ex-votos are small devotional paintings that were commissioned by the faithful for healing miracles and displayed in community churches as testimony to their devotion and gratitude. Painted with illustrations of patients, doctors, and diseases, ex-votos open a window to our understanding of how the faithful coped with illness in their daily lives. [For more information see NLM Technical Bulletin No. 364, September-October 2008 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/so08/so08_miracles.html

The October issue of NIH News in Health, the monthly newsletter bringing you practical health news and tips based on the latest NIH research, is now online at http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/. In this issue of NIH News in Health:

Hey, Parents: It’s a Noisy Planet: Protect Kids’ Hearing
The tricky thing about hearing loss is that you may not notice it until the damage has already been done. Have a heart-to-heart talk with your kids now about protecting their hearing.

Keep Your Kidneys Clear: Kicking Kidney Stones
Some say that passing a kidney stone is like delivering a baby made of razor blades. The good news is that, although they can be excruciatingly painful, kidney stones rarely cause permanent damage, and you may be able to prevent them.

Health Capsules:
•Genetic Quirks Linked to Schizophrenia
•Understanding Vitamin D
•Featured Web Site: Body & Soul

Click here to download a PDF version for printing. http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/pdf/NIHNiH%20Oct2008.pdf

More than half a million Americans suffer from Parkinson’s disease, a brain disorder that leads to tremor and difficulty with walking, movement, and coordination. Although not a normal part of aging, Parkinson’s occurs most often among people 60 and older, and the risk increases with age. Older adults now can visit the NIHSeniorHealth Web site to learn more about Parkinson’s disease at http://www.nihseniorhealth.gov/parkinsonsdisease/toc.html The Web site from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is geared toward older adults and features clear language.

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-07-236.html
NLM Knowledge Management & Applied Informatics grants emphasize the use of information technology to bring usable, useful health-related information to end users. Computers and networks are the basis of information systems that provide health professionals, researchers, educators, students and consumers with time- and place-independent access to the published biomedical knowledge, clinical files and images and scientific databases they need. They also provide the ability to communicate with patients, health administrators, and colleagues around the world. The term “information system” is defined broadly to include equipment, software, knowledge resources and services, and human expertise.