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Archive for the ‘News from NLM/NIH’ Category

New App Tracks Local Health Trends and Wins ASPR Challenge

Friday, September 14th, 2012

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) announced the winner of their app developer challenge ““Now Trending: #Health in My Community.” Mappy Health is a web based application for local public health departments to use to track health concerns in real time in their communities using twitter.

Mappy Health: http://www.mappyhealth.com/

Press Release: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2012pres/09/20120913a.html

Tox Town Is Looking for Teachers to Promote Environmental Health Afterschool Club

Friday, September 14th, 2012

The K-12 group of the National Library of Medicine (one of the 27 institutes of the National Institutes of Health), developed an afterschool science club curriculum for middle school students, called “Discovering the Connection: Your Environment, Your Health.” The curriculum combines research on the Tox Town website with hands-on experiments and communication and social action activities. The objective is to introduce middle school students to environmental health issues in their everyday life, stressing the relevance of science to informed citizenship.

The curriculum contains six units that each introduce one environmental health topic (e.g., Water, Air Quality, Chemicals in Your Home, Food Safety) and include three to four 50-60 minute lessons. All lessons come with teacher instructions and student handouts; the materials needed for hands-on experiments are simple items that can be found in a supermarket.

We are looking for several educators across the country who would partner with us by 1) conducting this club at their middle school, and 2) sharing their experience with colleagues via media and conference presentations. If interested, please, answer the following questions:

1. Your name

2. Name and location of your school

3. Grade level(s) and subject(s) you teach

4. Why are you interested in this opportunity? (one paragraph)

5. How could you share your club experience with other educators in your school, county, state, region? (one paragraph)

Please, email your answers and inquiries to Dr. Alla Keselman at keselmana@mail.nih.gov.

National Preparedness Month

Friday, September 14th, 2012

September is National Preparedness Month and the National Library of Medicine’s Disaster Information Management Research Center (DIMRC) has lots of resources on preparing for the unexpected! It is up to all of us to be informed during disaster and emergencies, and DIMRC’s goal is to connect people to quality disaster health information. We’ll be sending out lists of resources on 3 topics throughout the month of September. We encourage you to take some time to explore these resources and to share them with your patrons.

This week, take some time to check out these resources on how to get involved in disaster preparedness and response:

American Red Cross

The Red Cross responds to approximately 70,000 disasters in the United States every year and offers flexible volunteer opportunities and classes in live-saving skills.

Community Emergency Response Teams

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help.

Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals

The Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals (ESAR-VHP) is a federal program created to support states and territories in establishing standardized volunteer registration programs for disasters and public health and medical emergencies. The program, administered on the state level, verifies health professionals’ identification and credentials so that they can respond more quickly when disaster strikes. By registering through ESAR-VHP, volunteers’ identities, licenses, credentials, accreditations, and hospital privileges are all verified in advance, saving valuable time in emergency situations.

Medical Reserve Corps

The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is a national network of local groups of volunteers committed to improving the health, safety, and resiliency of their communities. MRC units are community-based and work to locally organize and utilize volunteers who want to donate their time and expertise to prepare for and respond to emergencies and promote healthy living throughout the year. MRC volunteers supplement existing emergency and public health resources.

You can also find more information on disaster medicine and public health preparedness on DIMRC’s website: http://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov/

Caroline Spellman (Contractor)

Associate Consultant

Aquilent, Inc., supporting the mission of the National Library of Medicine

Specialized Information Services Division

Disaster Information Management Research Center

6707 Democracy Blvd., Ste. 510

Bethesda, MD 20892-5467

spellmancm@nlm.nih.gov

September NIH News in Health

Friday, September 14th, 2012

Check out the September 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:

See, Hear, Speak / Are Kids’ Senses Ready for School?
Early classroom success depends on healthy hearing, vision, speech and language. If a child has problems in these areas, the sooner they’re spotted, the better they can be treated.
Read more about hearing, language and vision at school.

Safe Driving for Distracted Teens / Steering in the Right Direction
Mile for mile, teens are involved in 3 times as many fatal crashes as more experienced drivers. Why are young drivers so vulnerable to accidents and injuries? And what can we do to reduce their risk? NIH-funded researchers are looking for some answers.
Read more about teen driving.

Health Capsules:

Featured Website: 52 Weeks for Women’s Health

Expanding the NIH Undiagnosed Diseases Program

Friday, September 7th, 2012

The NIH issued a Request for Information concerning expanding the NIH Undiagnosed Diseases Program (NIH-UDP) to extramural clinical sites capable of providing diagnoses to patients presenting with difficult to diagnose diseases.  According to NIH, “Since its inception in 2008, the NIH UDP has received approximately 6,300 inquiries, reviewed 2,300 medical records, and admitted 450 patients to the NIH Clinical Center for thorough, one-week evaluations.  Even without a systematic approach to advertising the program, there is a substantial unmet demand for these services– a major reason to create a national network of diagnostic sites.  Another reason is that a network may ease the travel burden for some patients seeking help from the UDP. In addition to the benefit to patients with rare diseases, the UDP creates important opportunities for research:  uncovering the biochemistry, physiology, and underlying genetic etiology leads to a better understanding of disease processes and those of related disorders.”  Responses to this RFI will be accepted through September 18, 2012.
http://tinyurl.com/9zuwyhu

Conflict of Interest Disclosure and Journal Supplements in MEDLINE

Friday, September 7th, 2012

The National Library of Medicine has issued a fact sheet that details the conditions under which journal supplements will be indexed for MEDLINE.  Citation of supplements in MEDLINE that may have a guest editor or may be produced outside of the routine editorial and peer review processes of the journal will only be cited and indexed for MEDLINE if certain disclosure conditions are met.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/supplements.html

Explore the Redesigned Kids.gov!

Friday, September 7th, 2012

Kids.gov is the U.S. government’s website for children (grades K-8). Kids, parents, and teachers can use the site to get help with homework, access lesson plans, watch videos, play games, and more.

If you’ve visited Kids.gov previously, you’ll notice that the website has been completely redesigned. The vibrant new site provides areas for three specific audiences: kids (grades K-5), teens (grades 6-8), and grown-ups (teachers and parents).

Enjoy exploring all that Kids.gov has to offer, including the following examples:

New Resources on HealthIT.gov

Friday, August 31st, 2012

This week, ONC added a number of resources to HealthIT.gov.  Highlights include:

Stage 2 Meaningful Use—Final Rules:  On Thursday, August 23, ONC and CMS released final requirements for the Stage 2 Electronic Health Records Incentive programs and Standards & Certification Criteria.  Information and resources about both rules are available on a new Meaningful Use Stage 2 page.

New Consumer Videos Available:  In recent weeks, ONC has expanded its library of consumer-friendly videos.  New videos available in the Patients and Families section of HealthIT.gov include an animated video about the benefits of health IT, as well as winners of two consumer video challenges.  Watch the videos.

Redesigned Federal Advisory Committee (FACA) Pages Launched:  Webpages for the Health IT Policy and Standards committees and workgroups meetings featuring a new meeting calendar are now available.  Visit the new FACA pages to view calendars and other resources for both the Health IT Policy Committee and the Health IT Standards Committee.

Read the Buzz from Your Mobile Device:  ONC launched its Health IT Buzz blog mobile website.  Readers can now access information about health IT and view important updates from ONC from their smartphone or other mobile devices.  Read the Health IT Buzz blog.

Visit HealthIT.gov often for the latest information and resources and to stay up-to-date on how health IT is improving America’s health and health care!

September is Disaster Preparedness Month

Friday, August 31st, 2012

Each week during September, MAR will be highlighting an online resource.  We will include both personal and professional preparedness information to inform our members about the vast array of disaster and emergency preparedness resources available.

Our first featured resource is Ready.gov which has instructional videos developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in partnership with the Advertising Council.  The Ready Campaign sponsored videos (http://www.ready.gov.psa) encourage, educate, and empower Americans to prepare themselves, their families, and their communities to respond to all kinds of emergencies.  These instructional videos are available in both English and Spanish.  They also include American Sign Language and closed captioning.

Michelle Burda

Network & Advocacy Coordinator

National Network of Libraries of Medicine

Middle Atlantic Region

mburda@pitt.edu

New Genetics Education Resource

Friday, August 31st, 2012

New Genetics Education Resource:  http://geneed.nlm.nih.gov

The National Library of Medicine is pleased to announce the release of a new educational resource, GeneEd.  Developed in collaboration with the National Human Genome Institute (NHGRI), teachers and experts in genetics and genetic counseling, GeneEd is a safe and useful resource for students and teachers in grades 9 – 12 to learn genetics.  GeneEd allows students and teachers to explore topics such as Cell Biology, DNA, Genes, Chromosomes, Heredity/Inheritance Patterns, Epigenetics/Inheritance and the Environment, Genetic Conditions, Evolution, Biostatistics, Biotechnology, DNA Forensics, and Top Issues in Genetics.

Teachers can use the site to introduce topics, supplement existing materials, and provide as a reliable source to students conducting research. The site links to categories such as research articles, animation, games, videos, interactive tutorials, and labs and experiments.  3D images, illustrations and text from NHRGI help to enrich the user experience by providing vivid imagery to reinforce genetic concepts.  Text varies from easy-to-read to advanced reading levels, which makes this a versatile tool both in and out of the classroom.  Specialty pages including Teacher Resources and Labs and Experiments highlight those tools that teachers may find particularly helpful.  Other specialty pages such as Careers in Genetics and Highlights allow students to see what is new and noteworthy in the field of Genetics along with links to different careers related to the science of Genetics.

To stay up to date with all NLM’s K-12 resources subscribe to the K12NLMRESOURCES listserv, follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook.