Health games are designed using gaming technologies and principles, to improve participants’ awareness of health related issues, or to increase their engagement in physical activities.

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Investigators or sponsors for certain clinical trials are required to submit basic results data to ClinicalTrials.gov.   In addition, links to published results are currently available in ClinicalTrials.gov.  Do you know how to access this information?

The National Training Center and Clearinghouse (NTCC) will be teaching the class NLM Gateway and ClinicalTrials.gov on February 2, 2009 from 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm at the Houston Academy of Medicine - Texas Medical Center Library in Houston, TX.   In addition to ClinicalTrials.gov, this class also covers the NLM Gateway database which allows users to search multiple NLM databases in a single search.

To register for the class, http://nnlm.gov/ntcc/classes/register.html

Trying to keep up with the changes occurring in PubMed can seem difficult sometimes.  One easy way to keep up is to subscribe to the NLM Technical Bulletin’s RSS feed.  When a new article is posted on the NLM Technical Bulletin, you get a message in your blog reader.

Some of the recent articles about PubMed improvement include:

Nahin A. PubMed® Advanced Search Evolves. NLM Tech Bull. 2008 Nov-Dec (365):e6.

PubMed Advanced Search will no longer be a beta site.

Nahin A. Title Scanning Easier with New PubMed® Summary Format — Coming Soon. NLM Tech Bull. 2008 Nov-Dec (365):e7.

The Summary format has changed so that the article title displays first.

Gene Sensor. NLM Tech Bull. 2008 Nov-Dec (365):e16.

Gene Sensor detects if the PubMed query includes a gene symbol and links it to the Gene Database.

The National Library of Medicine resources PubMed and MedlinePlus can be used to find health literacy information.

To find health literacy information in PubMed:

• Go to PubMed at www.pubmed.gov
• On the left side of the page under PubMed Services click on Special Queries
• Scroll down and under Subjects click on Health Literacy
• Click on MEDLINE/PubMed health literacy search
• To narrow your search, use the Limits tab.  You can limit your search by date, language, etc.

To find health literacy information in MedlinePlus:

• Go to MedlinePlus at http://medlineplus.gov
• Click on Health Topics
• Under Find your topic by first letter click on the letter H
• Scroll down and click on Health Literacy

Another useful resource is BHIC (Bringing Health Information to the Community), an NLM-funded blog with a wealth of health literacy information.

Do you have a great health information outreach or technology idea but don’t know how to find the money to implement the project?   Have you ever wanted to apply for NN/LM SCR funding but didn’t know where to begin?  Have you ever wondered what types of projects the NN/LM SCR has funded in the past?

If so, join us on Wednesday for the next SCRCONNECTions web conference on December 17, 2008 at 10:30 – 11:30 CT (9:30 – 10:30 MT).  This month’s topic will be NN/LM SCR Funding Opportunities.  This session will cover the awards available from the NN/LM SCR office, including the Express Outreach, Course Development, Mobile Health Education, DOCLINE Library Improvement, Access to Electronic Health Information, Partners in Public Health Information Outreach, Library Technology, Professional Development and Information Access Improvement Project awards.  We will provide you with an overview of the award process and information on the types of projects previously funded from NN/LM SCR.  You’ll also receive some tips for applying for funding so that you can turn your project ideas into reality.

We look forward to seeing you on the 17th!   To join the conference, follow the instructions at:
http://nnlm.gov/scr/training/webmeeting.html

The Radiation Event Medical Management System (REMM) can now be downloaded to mobile devices (Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Palm) with selected key files from the full online version.

REMM provides:

• Guidance for health care providers, primarily physicians, about clinical diagnosis and treatment during mass casualty radiological/nuclear (rad/nuc) events.
• Just-in-time, evidence-based, usable information with sufficient background and context to make complex issues understandable to those without formal radiation medicine expertise.
• Web-based information that is also downloadable in advance, so that it would be available during an event if the internet is not accessible.

Many people are using the Internet as a diagnostic tool to find information on health conditions, disease symptoms, as well as treatment suggestions.  Microsoft recently published a new study on medical web-searching behavior and how search results from popular Web search engines can affect decision making.

Among other results, the study found that answers retrieved from Internet search engines can often lead users to believe that common symptoms are likely the result of serious illnesses and to increase the anxiety of people who have little or no medical training.

You can access the full article at http://research.microsoft.com/research/pubs/view.aspx?type=Technical%20Report&id=1595

The NN/LM SCR is offering the class ¿No Comprende? Spanish Health Information Resources for English Speaking Librarians on January 7, 2008 at McNeese State University, Frazar Memorial Library, in Lake Charles, LA.  The class will be held from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm.  There is no charge for this class.

¿No Comprende? Spanish Health Information Resources for English Speaking Librarians
Do you have a growing Latino population in your community? Do you need to find health information in Spanish fast but don’t know where to look? This 4-hour hands-on class will cover resources for learning basic, library, medical, and Internet Spanish vocabulary. You will also learn to evaluate and identify health websites in Spanish to which you can direct your patrons.  Upon successful completion of this class, each participant will receive 4 hours of continuing education credit awarded by the Medical Library Association.

To register: http://nnlm.gov/scr/training/register.html

If you have any questions, please contact Karen Vargas at 800-338-7657 (AR, LA, NM, OK, TX), 713-799-7880, or karen.vargas@exch.library.tmc.edu.

The December issue of NIH News in Health, the monthly newsletter bringing you practical health news and tips based on the latest National Institutes of Health (NIH) research, is now online. In this edition:

Healthy Holiday Gift Ideas: Get Creative, Stay Healthy
We all know how hard it is to stay healthy over the holidays. This year, don’t be part of the problem. Here are some gift ideas to help your family and friends be more, not less, healthy.

Cold Fingers and Toes? It Might Be Raynaud’s
When the temperature drops this winter, it’s normal to feel it most in your fingers, toes, ears and nose. But if your fingers and toes regularly turn bluish or white when the temperature dips even slightly, or if they often feel numb or painful or turn red and tingle when you’re stressed or cold, it may be a sign you have something called Raynaud’s disease.

Health Capsules:
•    Warm Hands, Warm Feelings
•    New Alzheimer’s Book Published
•    Featured Web Site: Herbs at a Glance

Click here to download a PDF version for printing.

Please pass the word on to your colleagues about the NIH News in Health.  A limited number of print copies are available free of charge for display in offices, libraries or clinics.  Just email or call 301-435-7489 for more information.

Join a demonstration of the Valuing Library Services and Cost Benefit/Return On Investment Calculators on Monday, December 8, 2008 at 2pm Eastern Time, 1pm Central. Barb Jones and Betsy Kelly from the MidContinental Region, NN/LM will reprise their MLA presentation on these tools to enable health science librarians to determine the return on investment and cost benefit of their libraries and services. Come with some numbers to discuss how you can use the online calculators to show the value your library brings to your institution.

To participate, come to this url: https://webmeeting.nih.gov/libraryvalue/

This demonstration will be held via Adobe Connect. If you have not used Adobe Connect before, feel free to log into the site in advance. The system might want to install an Adobe Connect plugin, and if it does, you should allow it. When the meeting begins, the system will normally ask you for your phone number and then call it so that you can hear the audio and participate in the discussion. If the system does not call your phone, join us using this toll-free number: 1-866-548-4716, Participant Code: 243436.

For an advance peek at these great calculator tools, go to http://nnlm.gov/mcr/evaluation/calculator.html and http://nnlm.gov/mcr/evaluation/roi.html and see how you might be able to express your value in monetary terms!

This session is hosted by the NN/LM Outreach Evaluation Resource Center. If you have any questions, contact Susan Barnes at sjbarnes@u.washington.edu or Cindy Olney at olneyc@coevalmail.com