MedlinePlus has a new tutorial (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/medicalwords/) on understanding medical words or terminology. Sometimes the terms we use to describe an illness or condition do not match those of a doctor. For example, a “heart attack” to a doctor means there is damage to the heart muscle, while a consumer might interpret it to mean the heart isn’t beating. You’ll also learn how to make sense of medical terms by breaking the term into parts and examining the word roots. For instance, the term colostomy (creating an opening in the colon) looks like this when broken up: colo=colon, +ostomy=opening of. The tutorial takes around 15-20 minutes to complete, including a few short quizzes. [da]

The March 17, 2009 online “Strategies to Improve Patient Health Literacy” class has been archived on the MCR website and is available for viewing. This one hour session defines health literacy and the challenges to patients; explores the impact low health literacy has on quality patient care, and describes resources to improve health literacy.

Check out other asynchronous training and educational opportunities, including web casts, web- and CD-based tutorials, and PowerPoint presentations from previous classes at http://nnlm.gov/mcr/education/online.html#A9. [da]

See this consumer level tutorial from NLM that teaches how to put together parts of medical words. The tutorial is interactive with quizzes to see what was learned http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/medicalwords.html [scb]

In 2008, the Information Use Management & Policy Institute at Florida State University was awarded a $218,000 grant to assist public libraries and local communities to better plan for and respond to hurricanes. From this project came a webcast with six experts sharing their first-hand experience in assisting public libraries planning for and respond to hurricanes. Their work will contribute to a study identifying public library best practices in hurricane preparedness and response. In addition, a web portal was created to organize and provide access to a broad range of information for public librarians and local communities regarding hurricanes. [da]

This week - Wednesday, February 25 - for one hour - 1:00 MT, 2:00 CT- take a class on MedlinePlus and the Household Products Database, presented by Barb Jones, as part of the Spotlight! on National Library of Medicine Resources.

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/mcr. You’ll sign in as a guest, enter your phone number when prompted and the system will call you!

The series is targeted for the fourth Wednesday each month. Upcoming dates and topics include: March 25 - Educational Resources for Kids, and April 22 - Drug Resources. We hope to “see” you there!

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]

Read the press release below of four women who who used the library to improve their health and wellbeing. Be sure to take note of the story of the women in Colorado who recieved training from our very own Dana Abbey!

Press Relase from the American Library Association (ALA)
http://tinyurl.com/cfpmhp
February 10, 2009
Woman’s Day magazine shares stories of improving health and wellness at the library
Continuing an eight-year partnership with ALA’s Campaign for America’s Libraries that has generated millions of dollars worth of editorial coverage for libraries, Woman’s Day magazine profiles four women who used the library to improve their health and wellbeing.

The article ( http://tinyurl.com/alre75 PDF file) appears in the magazine’s March issue, now on stands. Featured are a wife who turned to the library for solace during her husband’s illness, a new mom who sought answers about postpartum depression at the library, a retiree who learned how to find trusted medical resources at a free library class and a reader who rediscovered books through the Library of Congress’ Talking Books program after she lost her sight. [scb]

The February 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. In this edition learn how pets can improve your health; read about the symptoms of thyroid disease; and, new therapies for Parkinson’s symptoms. [da]

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
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