FYI from the NHLBI Index
May 2001: Vol. 2, Issue 1 Feature Articles
Message from the Director
It was a pleasure to meet with many of you in January at the Institute's
Second Annual Public Interest Organization Meeting. Such meetings are
essential for the Institute and our National Heart, Lung, and Blood Advisory
Council to learn how we can better meet the needs of our constituents.
I urge you to tap into the cooperative spirit that was apparent at this
year's meeting by developing ways to work together toward common goals.
If you know of specific activities that the NHLBI can undertake or
facilitate to help you to help one another, please let us know by writing
to NHLBI.Listens@nih.gov.
As many at the meeting noted, you can help us "get the message out" by
distributing materials such as the FYI from the NHLBI.
To celebrate May as
High Blood Pressure Education month, show your loved ones that food can be
good for you and taste good at the same time; make a meal using recipes from
our Interactive Guide to
Lowering High Blood Pressure.
This year's World Asthma Day, celebrated on May 3,
draws attention to the global burden of asthma and the need to improve asthma
care worldwide. The theme, Joining Together Against Asthma
recognizes the need for persistent and collective efforts at
local, national, and international levels to address this growing problem.
We also have been working on other outreach activities.
This February, the NHLBI and other federal agencies
made a formal commitment with the American Heart Association
to coordinate efforts to reduce the impact of heart disease,
stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases. As a part of this
endeavor, we are supporting several population- and community-based
public education and health promotion programs about the warning
signs and symptoms of heart attack and stroke, many of which will
be featured in future FYI from the NHLBI issues.
Sincerely yours,
Claude Lenfant, M.D.
Director
NIH Sites Recognized as Leading Sources of
Health Information
When Time Inc.'s ON Magazine picked its Best Health Web Sites,
it included NIH-sponsored Web sites such as
MEDLINEplus and
ClinicalTrials.gov.
The March 5, 2001, issue also contained an
article featuring online information sources geared toward educating
patients about clinical trials, which included an interview with
ClinicalTrials.gov's Dr. Alexa McCray who spoke at the NHLBI's Second
Annual Public Interest Organization Meeting. A third article described
how patients were researching health information on sites such as
MEDLINE
and using the information to stimulate discussions with their physicians. According to the
article, many physicians welcome the opportunity to learn from their
patients, particularly when patients bring
them information from respected, peer-reviewed publications.
Internet Searches are Affecting Health Care Decisions and Concerns
According to a report supported by the Pew Charitable Trusts: 55% of American adults who have access to the internet have used the Web to get health or medical information.
Of these 52 million "health seekers"
- 70% looked for information about a specific condition.
- 81% learned something during their last online visit.
- 13% sought information about fitness and nutrition.
- 48% followed advice from the Web to improve the way they take care of themselves.
- 16% used the internet to get information on a health subject that
is hard to talk about.
- 89% worry that companies will collect and share data about
sites they visited.
- 9% exchanged emails with the doctor.
- 63% oppose the idea of keeping medical records online.
- 81% think people should be able to sue a health or medical site if it
gives away information about its customers after saying it would not.
Source: Pew Internet and American Life.
"The online health care revolution: How the Web helps Americans take better care of themselves."
And the Winners Are . . .
All of us are winners when we get enough sleep, and no one knows
that more than the three lucky children and their families who won a
trip to Washington, DC, to kick off the National Center for Sleep Disorders
Research "Star Sleeper Campaign" with Garfield the cat.
Children across the United States submitted their suggestions for a comic
strip depicting Garfield doing something silly because he didn't get enough
sleep the night before.
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Cartoonist Jim Davis then drew the endings suggested
by the children. The entries with the best endings
to Garfield's statement that "I was so tired today that I…" were:
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Katie Seamon, age 10, from Pittsburgh, PA |
Xavier Powers, age 9, from Alliance, OH |
Danny Strohman, age 8, from Duluth, MN |
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