CheckItOut@WrightLibrary from Wright Memorial Public Library

It's Hot! Take Care

Reference Staff — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 19:20:54 GMT

According to the National Weather Service's Web site "heat is the number one weather-related killer in the United States." When temperatures are as high as they have been lately, excessive heat advisories can be issued. These alerts are issued mainly on the Heat Index, which is a measure of how hot it really feels when relative humidity is factored with the actual air temperature. The current Heat Index can be found online at sites like weather.com or Weather Underground.

Because of the danger excessive heat poses, it is important to not only be aware of the temperature and heat index. but also what steps to take to prevent the heat from affecting your health. Here are some guides that can help.

Stay cool.

Parkinson's Awareness Month

Reference Staff — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 14:50:45 GMT

Already we have highlighted April as National Poetry Month and National Financial Literacy Month, but is also designated as Parkinson's Awareness Month. Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurological disorder that affects nearly one million people in the United States and seven to 10 million people worldwide. During April, the Parkinson's community makes extensive efforts to increase awareness about the disease and the resources that are available to those individuals living with it.

Medication Information

Reference Staff — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 16:48:30 GMT

At one point or another we will all take medicine of one form or another. It is to our benefit that we educate ourselves concerning the medications that we take, so that we take them effectively and safely. Many consumer health Web sites (such as the Mayo Clinic, Medline Plus, and WebMD) offer medication information, but there are sites that specialize in providing this information for consumers.

Much of the information provided comes by way of the Food and Drug Administration, which makes it Medication Guides available online, as well as a drug database, Drugs@FDA. DailyMed is another database on medicine information from the National Institutes of Health.

Anytime you are looking for medical information, especially online, it is important to know that you are dealing with reputable, accurate information. Most of the sites listed here are certified by the Health on the Net Foundation. You can use their specialized search engine to search only sites they have certified.

An additional resource is this tutorial on how to evaluate online medical information from the National Library of Medicine.

Health Literacy Month

Reference Staff — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:07:37 GMT

October is Health Literacy Month and in the spirit of promoting understandable health information, we would like to remind patrons of the variety of online, health-related resources the Library makes available.

All of the following resources can be found on our databases page.

Alt HealthWatch (EBSCOhost): Provides in-depth coverage across the full spectrum of subject areas covered by complementary and alternative medicine dating back to 1990. Includes full-text for many peer-reviewed journals.
Health Source - Nursing/Academic Edition (EBSCOhost): Provides scholarly full text journals as well as indexing and abstracts focusing on many medical disciplines with coverage of nursing and allied health being particularly strong.
MEDLINE: Provides authoritative medical information on medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, pre-clinical sciences, and much more. Created by the National Library of Medicine, MEDLINE indexs over 4800 biomedical journals providing citations with some full text. Most materials indexed are at the research level.
MedlinePlus: MedlinePlus will direct you to information to help answer health questions. MedlinePlus brings together authoritative information from NLM, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other government agencies and health-related organizations. Preformulated MEDLINE searches are included in MedlinePlus and give easy access to medical journal articles. MedlinePlus also has extensive information about drugs, an illustrated medical encyclopedia, interactive patient tutorials, and latest health news.
NetWellness: Improve your health online. This non-profit consumer health Web site provides high quality health information created and evaluated by medical and health professional faculty from several Ohio universities.
Psychology and Behavorial Sciences Collection (EBSCOhost): This database covers topics such as emotional and behavioral characteristics, psychiatry & psychology, mental processes, anthropology, and observational and experimental methods.
Salem Health - [From Home] [In the Library]: This is the online version of Magill's Medical Guide. The Guide covers diseases, disorders, treatments, procedures, specialties, anatomy, biology, and issues in an A-Z format, with sidebars addressing recent developments in medicine and concise information boxes for all diseases and disorders. Every entry has been evaluated by a panel of medical consultants and then updated by experts or re-edited to ensure currency and accuracy.

Health Care Reform Bill

Reference Staff — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:02:27 GMT

Health care reform is a big issue with new legislation proposed in both houses of Congress. A review copy of H.R. 3200 America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, the health care reform bill from the U.S. House of Representatives, is available at Wright Library. Those interested in reading the bill will find it in three binders on the shelf behind the Reference Desk.

The text of the bill is also available online from the Government Printing Office or OpenCongress.org, where comments are already being made on the proposed legislation. You can also participate in the League of Women Voters sponsored Health Care Reform: The Big Read to get a better understanding of what is included in the bill and what it may mean for you.

UPDATE (10/5/09): Since the date of this post the Senate Finance Committee has released America's Healthy Future Act, it's version of a health care reform bill.

Also currently on the shelf behind the Reference Desk are these new reference books:

Stay Healthy: Information About the H1N1 Virus (Swine Flu)

Reference Staff — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 15:43:45 GMT

Concern about the continuing spread of the H1N1 (Swine flu) virus is growing, especially with schools back in session. As in all medical situations, information is key to understanding risks and what preventive steps can be taken. In that spirit we have collected Web sites that contain specific information on the H1N1 virus, including what it is, how to recognize symptoms, what to do if you feel sick, and better yet what to do to help prevent yourself from becoming sick.

Here are a few good starting places to get an overall picture of the situation, as well as specific recommendations. Get started by visiting one of the following Web sites.

A wealth of information is available including Frequently Asked Questions, information on vaccines, What to do if you get flu-like symptoms, and Travel Notices.

Numerous informational sites are collected at MedlinePlus from a variety of sources. There is also an Interactive Tutorial. A Talk to Your Doctor page is just one resource available from Netwellness. You can follow the international situation at the World Health Organization Web site.

If you have children, the following resources may be of interest.

Stay healthy. Stay informed. Follow CDC updates on Twitter or get news using the Widget below.

Medicare/Prescription Drug Care Coverage Sign Up

Reference Staff — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:10:38 GMT

Every year Medicare Managed Care Plans and Prescription Drug Plans have open enrollment from November 15 - December 31. The Ohio Senior Health Insurance Information Program (OSHIIP) is a good place to start to locate assistance in choosing the best plan for yourself. They are online or you can call 1-800-686-1578.

Check out our post on this topic from last year for additional resources.

New Health Resource

Reference Staff — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:25:47 GMT

One of the Library's new databases, Salem Health is the online version of Magill's Medical Guide. The Guide covers diseases, disorders, treatments, procedures, specialties, anatomy, biology, and issues in an A-Z format, with sidebars addressing recent developments in medicine and concise information boxes for all diseases and disorders. Every entry has been evaluated by a panel of medical consultants and then updated by experts or re-edited to ensure currency and accuracy.

You can access the Salem Health In the Library or From Home.