http://nihseniorhealth.gov/medicare/toc.html
An easy-to-read overview, “Medicare Basics for Caregivers,” is now available at NIHSeniorHealth. This brief, yet comprehensive introduction to Medicare gives caregivers the basics and helps them find answers to their questions. The complete NIH News Release is available online at: http://www.nih.gov/news/health/may2009/nia-13.htm [scb]

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has released a new report called Hard Times in the Heartland: Health Care in Rural America, outlining the health care challenges facing rural communities. Hard Times in the Heartland indicates that nearly 50 million people in rural America face challenges accessing health care. Not only do these Americans face higher rates of poverty, they report more health problems, are more likely to be uninsured, and have less access to a primary health care providers than do Americans living in urban areas. http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/hardtimes/ruralreport.pdf

[posted on Kansas Rural Health Information Service] scb

A lot of work has been going on updating the MCR web site. Here are just some of the pages that have been reorganized or reviewed to make use of the web site easier.

The Health Information main index page http://nnlm.gov/mcr/resources/ has been redesigned to include information by audience as well as promotional materials. The online tutorial to use in helping novice computer users find and evaluate health information has been updated http://nnlm.gov/mcr/ctc/index.html

The Minority Health index http://nnlm.gov/mcr/resources/community/minority.html and three of the racial ethnic pages have been updated:

• African American Health http://nnlm.gov/mcr/resources/community/ethnic/aahealth.html
• Latino American Health http://nnlm.gov/mcr/resources/community/ethnic/latamer.html
• Native American Health http://nnlm.gov/mcr/resources/community/ethnic/native.html

[scb]

The United States Department of Health and Human Services unveiled a new site today dedicated to healthcare reform. www.healthreform.gov provides a platform to share documents, thoughts and ideas. [da]

The Maternal and Child Health Library released a new edition of the knowledge path, Spanish-Language Health Resources. The knowledge path points to health hotlines and helplines, web sites, publications, and databases for health professionals and consumers. The knowledge path presents Spanish-language resources covering a wide range of health topics, including many of interest to the maternal and child health (MCH) community. The knowledge path is available at http://www.mchlibrary.info/KnowledgePaths/kp_spanish.html. A Spanish-language version of the 2009 edition is also being developed. Knowledge paths on other maternal and child health (MCH) topics are available at http://mchlibrary.info/KnowledgePaths/index.html [scb]

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/news/mplus_mag_spanish09.html
There’s a new magazine for people who want health information in Spanish. The National Institutes of Health, the National Library of Medicine, and the Friends of the National Library of Medicine recently launched NIH MedlinePlus Salud http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/magazine/. The magazine is produced in partnership with the National Alliance for Hispanic Health.

The new publication, written in both English and Spanish, complements NIH MedlinePlus magazine http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/magazine/ which premiered in 2006. Salud (the Spanish word for health) was created to bring quality health information to even more people, and to address the specific health needs of the growing Hispanic population. [scb]

The Maternal and Child Health Library at Georgetown University in collaboration with the National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center (OHRC) released a new edition of the knowledge path about oral health for infants, children, adolescents, and pregnant women. Presented in time for Children’s Dental Health Month in February, this electronic guide points to resources that analyze data, describe effective programs, and report on policy and research aimed at improving access to and the quality of oral health care. The knowledge path contains sections with resources for professionals, resources for consumers, and resources on specific aspects of oral health. Topics include child care and Head Start, dental sealants, early childhood caries, fluoride varnish, K-12 education, pregnancy, school-based care, school evaluation mandates, and special health care needs. The knowledge path is available at http://www.mchlibrary.info/KnowledgePaths/kp_oralhealth.html. Knowledge paths on other topics are available at http://mchlibrary.info/KnowledgePaths/index.html
[ss]

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released an updated and improved version of the Surgeon General’s Internet-based family health history tool. This new tool makes it easier for consumers to assemble and share family health history information. It can also help practitioners make better use of health history information so they can provide more informed and personalized care for their patients. For more information please visit the following URL: https://familyhistory.hhs.gov/fhh-web/home.action [scb]

The American Library Association (ALA) Public Information Office announced the release of “Increasing Relevance, Relationships and Results: Principles & Practices for Effective Multicultural Communication-Library Edition,” http://tinyurl.com/7xdtvo written by the Metropolitan Group, a leading strategic communication and resource development agency specializing in work with libraries.

The article defines eight principles and practices for effective multicultural communication, and highlights the important, integrated role multicultural communication plays in creating social change. Read more at http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pressreleases2009/january2009/piomulticulturalcomm.cfm [scb]