From the latest edition of the AMA’s Health Care Careers e-Letter.

Traveling art exhibit on rural health care The Vision Project (PDF) is seeking funding and sites for a traveling art exhibition on rural health care, focusing on the Mississippi Delta region. The exhibition will include photographs with text, a video documentary, an optional multimedia booth, and panel discussions focusing on health care issues. Universities, education centers, and community organizations throughout the United States are invited to participate.

For more information, contact Rick Falco

by Terri Ottosen, consumer health outreach coordinator

The Community Outreach Coordinator and the Consumer Health Outreach Coordinator of the Southeastern/Atlantic Region, partnered to develop a four-part tutorial series using Captivate® software.  All four tutorials are now available for viewing.  If you’re unfamiliar with the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, or if you’ve already received funding from us, you can view each of these tutorials depending on where you are in the funding process.  These tutorials were created to assist individuals with the details of the funding process, including paperwork, tips, equipment ordering, filing quarterly reports and evaluation.

Below is a description and link to each tutorial:

Part 1 – Wishful Thinking

Part 1 is an introduction to the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Southeastern/Atlantic Region’s funding process. It covers general funding and partnership tips and is intended to help community, faith-based and other organizations learn about the benefits of partnering with libraries, how to find a partner, what to expect from the partnership, and how to begin the funding process. This training is intended for anyone seeking funding from the network, including librarians wanting to improve the access of health information in their communities.
Tutorial

Part 2 - Be Careful What You Wish For

Part 2 gets deeper into the funding process and is intended for those planning a full outreach project. This tutorial covers the project proposal including outlines, examples, templates, and samples of good proposals to review. Wording and the elements of a good proposal such as researching, community needs assessments, and outcomes are provided. Other topics include management of time, staff, and resources. Part of the “Measuring the Difference Guide to Planning and Evaluating Health Information Outreach,” developed by NN/LM and NLM staff, are used. The training covers the NN/LM funding process specifically and not grant writing in general.
Tutorial

Part 3 - Your Wish is Granted

The third part of the series is intended for those whose proposals have been accepted and funded. Once an award is made, an organization may ask - “Now what?” This session covers ordering equipment and other items needed for the project, interacting with the NN/LM staff, entering an outreach activity reporting form (OARF) into the system, and writing reports. Reporting will cover the report schedule, how to structure and how to submit the reports. Anyone who has been awarded funding from the SE/A will benefit from taking this tutorial.
Tutorial

Part 4 - Was Your Wish Fulfilled?

The final part of the series covers the last part of the funding process including evaluating the project, generating ideas for future projects, and sustaining a project. Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the project is reviewed. This training is suitable for Network members that have completed or are near completion of a full outreach project.
Tutorial

To access the starting page of the Wishing Well series, please visit: http://nnlm.gov/sea/training/wishingwell/index.html

Check out the July issue of NIH News in Health, the monthly newsletter bringing you practical health news and tips based on the latest NIH research.

In this edition:

How You See Yourself
When Your Body Image Doesn’t Measure Up

Do you like what you see when you look in the mirror? If your answer is “No,” you’re not alone. For many of us, there’s a growing gap between how our bodies look and how we’d like them to look.
full story

Don’t Dry Out
Make Sure You Drink Enough Water

You may wonder if you’ve been drinking enough water, especially when it’s hot out. Here’s what you need to know.
full story

Health Capsules:

• Well Water Testing Protects Kids’ Health
• What’s Living on Your Skin?
• Featured Web Site: Computing Life

Click here to download a PDF version for printing.

Visit our Facebook wall to suggest topics you’d like us to cover, or start a discussion about how you use the newsletter. We want to hear what you think! Also check out the NIH Health & Science Gifts and send some to your Facebook friends.

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

by Isaac Tufvesson, American Library Association
Office for Literacy and Outreach Services

The National Library of Medicine and the American Library Association want to show you how to find the information that will help you achieve good health. The site introduces the resources of the National Library of Medicine and provides information that helps communities of color in rural settings make good health decisions.

Why do I need this information?

The site specifically addresses the diseases and illnesses that disproportionately impact people of color by educating and making medical information more accessible.

How do I use the Good Health Information website?

Visitors will find quick links to health topics, as well as a tutorial to help them get started.

How do I find “Good Health Information?”

Simply visit Good Health Information at www.ala.org/goodhealth to learn more!

Look for Good Health Information at the Diversity and Outreach Fair at ALA Annual Conference in Chicago!

Check out the June issue of NIH News in Health, the monthly newsletter bringing you practical health news and tips based on the latest NIH research. In this edition:

Breaks, Tears & Strains
Preventing Sports Injuries
You’ve heard about the many health benefits of exercising and playing sports. But these benefits can come at a price: sports injuries. You can prevent many sports injuries by taking some simple precautions.
full story

Season of Ticks
Don’t Let Them Take a Bite Out of Your Summer
Every year thousands of adults, children and pets across the country are exposed to Lyme disease and other diseases carried by ticks. Simple precautions can help you avoid getting sick from these blood-feeding creatures.
full story

Health Capsules:

• Real and Imitation Acupuncture Both Ease Back Pain
• Medicare Basics for Caregivers
• Featured Web Site: Know Stroke

Click here to download a PDF version for printing.

Visit our Facebook wall to suggest topics you’d like us to cover, or start a discussion about how you use the newsletter. We want to hear what you think! Also check out the new NIH Health & Science Gifts and send some to your Facebook friends.

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

http://archive.nlm.nih.gov/proj/screener.php

NCBIs Communication Engineering Branch (CEB)* is developing a “Web 2.0″ interface to information about American nursing homes. The goal is to offer the public a timely and easy to use site for the rapid location and comparison of nursing homes, thus identifying those most worth further review or a personal visit.

The NLM team says it is developing the screener for older Americans who may be looking for a home for themselves or spouse, for middle-aged caregivers, and for health care professionals such as social workers, nurses and physicians who may be involved in the search for a nursing home.

Currently in prototype form, “Nursing Home Screener” locates homes on a Google Map (see figure). It allows nursing home quality, indicated by map icons, to be surveyed in any of four major categories, based on information provided by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS):

• Healthcare Deficiencies and Fire Safety Deficiencies, detected during CMS-mandated annual state inspections of nursing homes. Each specific deficiency is reported with levels of severity and extent of residents affected. NHScreener converts these to a score that can be percentile ranked.
• Staffing Level of Nurses and Aides, that is, hours per day of nurses and certified nursing assistants per resident. NHScreener compares these values to minimum standards set by the states.
• Care Quality Inferred from Residents’ Health. The staff of a home must fill out a quarterly resident assessment survey, from which CMS derives certain quality of care metrics for the home as a whole. NHScreener combines and ranks these further.

Within each category, options can be tailored to user preferences. Furthermore, home attributes (e.g., number of beds, type of home ownership) can be used to selectively hide home markers of less interest.

Technologically, the prototype currently employs a Microsoft IIS 6 web server with ASP 2 architecture. Monthly data from CMS is downloaded as an Access database, transformed (by data type conversion, data pivoting, statistics calculation, and ranking), augmented with latitude and longitude coordinates derived from street addresses, and delivered via a MySQL database.

* The Communications Engineering Branch (CEB) is a part of the Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications, an R&D division of the National Library of Medicine. Their mission is to conduct research and development on mission-critical tasks at NLM and NIH.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/magazine/

In several articles and a featured interview with Katie Couric, the cover story tells readers what they need to know about Preventing, Detecting and Treating Colorectal Cancer. Other sections include articles about Migraines, Hepatitis and Orthopedic Health.

Here is the complete listing:

Special Section: Colorectal Cancer
Preventing, Detecting, and Treating Colorectal Cancer
A Conversation with Katie Couric
Colorectal Cancer: Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment
New Ways to Detect Colon Cancer

Orthopedic Health
Healthy Joints for a Lifetime
Targeting Musculoskeletal Pain
Joint Health and Care: Prevention, Symptoms, Diagnosis & Treatment
Osteoarthritis — What You Should Know (Quiz)

Headaches and Migraines
Understanding Headaches: >From Mild to Migraine
Headache Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment
Migraine 101 Quiz

Feature: Hepatitis
The Dangers of Hepatitis
Hepatitis Can Strike Anyone
Hepatitis: Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment & Prevention

Then & Now: Research Pays Off for All Americans / Darwin, DNA, and the Genome

Healthlines
The Alzheimer’s Project Multimedia Campaign Debuts on HBO and Online
Swimming Lessons for Tots?
Rethinking Drinking

Check out the May issue of NIH News in Health, the monthly newsletter bringing you practical health news and tips based on the latest NIH research. And consider joining us on Facebook, where you can write on our wall to suggest topics you’d like us to cover, or start a discussion about how you use the newsletter. Go to http://www.facebook.com/r.php?page_id=45385547967&r=111&locale=en_US to sign up to connect with NIH News in Health on Facebook.

In this edition

No More Butts
Snuff Out That Cigarette for Good

If you’re a smoker, chances are you’ve already tried to quit. So you know from experience that it’s not easy. But many do succeed in the end. The health benefits you’d gain make quitting worth the effort.
full story

A Window to Your Health
Your Eyes Reveal a Bigger Picture

Your vision seems great. Your eyes feel completely fine. But if you haven’t seen your eye care professional in a while, you might have an eye problem that you don’t know about.
full story

Health Capsules:

1. Exercise Helps After Heart Failure
2. Catch Oral Cancer Early
3. Featured Web Site: Go Local

By using social media tools, FEMA is able to capture and share the various H1N1 preparedness and recovery efforts and discussions across the country, making them readily available to the public. Online FEMA multimedia and social media resources include:

• www.twitter.com/femainfocus: Get the latest FEMA information and participate in forums addressing issues.
• www.youtube.com/fema: Vignettes about FEMA programs.
• www.fema.gov/media/multimedia/: View FEMA video shorts on preparedness, response, and recovery efforts.
• www.fema.gov/radio/index.jsp: FEMA MP3 files of recent radio news and Public Service Announcements.
• www.dhs.gov/xprepresp/programs/gc_1220128923561.shtm: FEMA’s Federal Hurricane Response Widget.
• www.ready.gov/vblog: Ready Campaign’s video blog featuring public-created preparedness videos.

• Observe National Public Health Week, April 6-12.
• Celebrate Earth Day on April 22 by visiting the Climate Change page.
• Visit the School and School Bus pages in honor of National Healthy Schools Day on April 27.
• Be Air Aware” in honor of Air Quality Awareness Week, April 27 - May 1, and click on the Outdoor Air and Homes pages.

For a copy of Your Health and the Environment: Earth Day Classroom Enrichment from the National Library of Medicine, click the link.

April Is Cancer Control Month

April is Cancer Control Month. Visit the MedlinePlus health topic page on cancer and read the latest cancer news. Also, check out Cancer: Questions and Answers from the National Cancer Institute.

April Is Donate Life Month

April is Donate Life Month. Learn more by visiting the organ donation topic page on MedlinePlus.

April Is Alcohol Awareness Month

http://ncadi.samhsa.gov/seasonal/aprilalcohol/

• Straight Facts About Alcohol
• How to Get Help
• How Can I Tell if a Friend or Loved One Has a Problem with Alcohol, or Other Illicit Drugs?