Vanderbilt University Medical Center
The Annette and Irwin Eskind Biomedical Library Phone: (615) 936-1400
Nashville, TN 37232-8340 Fax: (615) 936-3508
Sandra Martin, MLS, Ed.D Phone: (615) 936-1417
Reliable Health Information Websites
General Health Information:
American Academy of Family Physician. www.familydoctor.org
Covers more than 250 health topics for patients.
American Medical Association. http://www.ama-assn.org/
Resources rich site. Click on consumer health information.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. www.cdc.gov/
News, traveler’s health, infectious or contagious diseases, immunizations, etc.
FDA (Food & Drug Administration). www.fda.gov/
Specific consumer topics from U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Health information also available in Spanish.
Healthfinder. www.healthfinder.gov
Healthfinder is a gateway consumer health information site from the U.S. government.
Mayo Clinic Health Oasis. www.mayo.edu General health information for the consumer.
Medlineplus from the National Library of Medicine. www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/
Information on hundreds of diseases, conditions and wellness issues.
NOAH (New York Online Access to Health). www.noah-health.org
Consumer oriented health site. Available in English and Spanish.
Alzheimer’s Disease:
Alzheimer’s Association. www.alz.org
Comprehensive information on all aspects of Alzheimer’s disease, including caregiving and helpful glossary of terms.
Alzheimer’s disease Education & Referral center. www.alzheimers.org
Another comprehensive site.
Arthritis Information:
Arthritis foundation. www.arthritis.org/
Resources for patients and health professionals.
Arthritis Society. http://www.arthritis.ca/home.html
From Canada, a useful site for patients with arthritis.
Cancer Information:
Cancer Information Services from the National Cancer Institute. http://cancer.gov/cancerinformation In-depth information for patients and health professionals on all forms of cancer, their treatments, clinical trials, and support information.
American Cancer Society. www.cancer.org Information on most cancers
Oncolink. http://oncolink.upenn.edu/ Cancer information from the University of Pennsylvania’s Cancer Center.
National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship: http://www.canceradvocacy.org/
See the CanSearch feature: an On-line Guide to Cancer Resources.
Caregiving
National Family Caregivers’ Association. http://www.nfcacares.org/
Support and advocacy information for family care providers.
American Association of Retired Persons- Caregiving. http://www.aarp.org/life/caregiving/
Good fact sheets on many important caregiving issues; nice links to other sites.
Children’s Health:
Kids Health for Parents. http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/ Website sponsored by the Nemours Foundation, a nonprofit organization devoted to children’s health.
Maternal and Child Health Bureau: http://mchb.hrsa.gov/ Covers health topic A-Z
Complementary Therapies:
Healthgate’s alternative Medicine Encyclopedia: http://www.tnp.com/
Covers medical conditions, herbs, supplements, drugs, depletions and treatments.
The Alternative Medicine homepage. http://www.pitt.edu/~cbw/altm.html
Comprehensive web guide to complementary medicine by the University of Pittsburgh.
Diabetes Information:
American Diabetes Association. www.diabetes.org/
Internationally recognized online research and patient information.
American Dietetic Association. www.eatright.org/
Nutrition information sources, including a daily tip and feature article.
Meals for You. www.mealsforyou.com/
Includes dietary exchange tables, recipes galore, meal plans, and much more.
Drug Information:
MedlinePlus Drug Information http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginformation.html
National Library of Medicine’s guide to more than 9,000 prescription and over-the-counter drugs from the United States Pharmacopeia.
Ask Noah About Pharmacy-Drugs and Medications http://www.noah-health.org/en/pharmacy/ New York Online Access to Health’s comprehensive information on all aspects of over-the –counter and prescription medicines.
Heart disease/Stroke Information:
American Heart Association. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1200000
Includes Heart and Stroke A-Z Guide, complete information.
National Stroke Association. http://209.107.44.93/NationalStroke/default.htm
Prevention, treatment, rehab and survivorship issues.
HIV/AIDS Information:
Center for AIDS Prevention Studies. http://www.caps.ucsf.edu/
Center for AIDS Prevention Studies’ comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention website. Includes fact sheets in English and Spanish, links to other AIDS information sites (including hotlines), publications, and research information.
HIV In Site. http://hivinsite.ucsf.edu/ Comprehensive, up-to-date information on HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention and policy.
Men’s Health:
Men’s Health and Wellness. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/menshealthgeneral.html
National Library of Medicine’s self-care site for men.
Mental Health
National Institute of Mental Health http://www.nimh.nih.gov/ Comprehensive mental health information.
National Mental Health Association. www.nmha.org/
Click on information Center for basic information.
Mental Health Infosource. http://www.mhsource.com
Comprehensive Mental health information site.
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. http://www.aacap.org/
Visit Facts for Families for a wealth of information on child and teen mental health issues.
Nutrition Information:
Meals for you. www.mealsforyou.com
Includes dietary exchange tables, recipes galore, meal plans, and much more.
Tufts University Nutrition Navigator. www.navigator.tufts.edu
A rating guide and links to nutrition websites for consumers and health professionals from Tufts University.
Sleeping Disorder Information:
American Academy of Sleep Medicine. http://www.aasmnet.org/
Information on sleep disorders. Links to diagnostic sleep disorders centers and labs.
American Sleep Apnea Association. www.sleepapnea.org/
Website devoted to sleep apnea. Helpful links to other sites.
Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation. www.rls.org/
Comprehensive website on RLS. Includes support group information, helpful links and
a chat room.
Search Engines:
www.hotbot.com. You can limit your research by date and language.
www.dogpile.com. Comprehensive. Dogpile searches other search engines for you and returns the results.
www.google.com. Straightforward searching. You can search by subject or category.
Spanish Language Information:
Cancer Information Service. http://www.cancer.gov/espanol
National Cancer Institute’s comprehensive cancer information for patients and health professionals on cancer types and treatment in Spanish.
Healthfinder. http://www.healthfinder.gov/espanol/
Presents 200 health information resources in Spanish.
FDA (Food & Drug Administration). www.fda.gov/
Specific consumer topics from U.S. Food& Drug Administration. Health information also available in Spanish.
NOAH (New York Online Access to Health). http://www.noah-health.org/
Consumer-oriented health site available in Spanish and English.
Support Groups:
Planetree Health Resources Center Support Group Database http://www.planetreesanjose.org/supportgroups.html
Searchable database for support groups and organizations you link to for information on hundreds of conditions.
Surgery:
American College of Surgeons. http://www.facs.org/index.html
The public information section has information on common surgeries.
Your Surgery. http://www.yoursurgery.com/index.cfm#
Growing database with explanations of common surgical procedures.
Teen Websites:
Teens Health at: http://kidshealth.org/teen/index.html Search database with sections on body basic, Mind matters, Teen Sports, STD’s, food and Fitness and more. Sponsored by the Nemours foundation, a nonprofit organization devoted to youth health.
Oregon Health Science University Center for Women’s Health Young Women’s Health Page at: http://www.ohsu.edu/library/teenhealth/ A website by teen women for teen women, this site covers physical health, mental health, sexuality, book reviews and links to crisis agencies.
Women’s Health:
National women’s Health Information Center. http://www.4women.gov/
Comprehensive women’s health site from the National Institute of Health.
National Women’s Health Resources Center. http://www.healthywomen.org
Comprehensive women’s health information, news and healthy living tips.
Arnot’s Health Care for Women. http://www.aomc.org/services/hcw.asp Check out the Reference Articles-a library of information on women’s health issues. Also quizzes, news, and links.