From Terri Ottosen:
healthfinder.gov: The Health Promotion Information Resource Librarians Have Been Searching For
Librarians looking for a credible and easy-to-use health promotion and wellness online resource for their customers should visit www.healthfinder.gov. healthfinder.gov is a Government Web site full of personalized, actionable health information and tools presented in an easy-to-read format with simple navigation. The site has been recognized as a key consumer resource for finding the best Government and nonprofit health information on the Internet.
healthfinder.gov is coordinated by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) and its National Health Information Center. ODPHP Director Rear Admiral Penelope Slade-Sawyer, P.T., M.S.W., has this message for librarians:
“To serve their communities, librarians need a credible site that uses everyday language and examples to link their patrons to important wellness information. healthfinder.gov gives librarians this resource and presents their visitors with the chance to participate actively in their own health and well-being,” Slade-Sawyer said.
English- and Spanish-speaking patrons can use healthfinder.gov to answer their most probing health questions and concerns.
Features of the award-winning site include:
- The Quick Guide to Healthy Living, a plain-language resource designed especially for users with limited literacy skills and/or limited time
- myhealthfinder tool, providing personalized health recommendations based on age and sex
- Interactive disease prevention and wellness tools like menu planners, calorie counters, videos, and online checkups
- Printable information on specific health topics that consumers can take with them or e-mail to a friend or family member, including lists of questions consumers can print and take to the doctor
- Links to information from more than 1,600 Government and nonprofit organizations
- Tools to locate health care providers, including federally funded health centers that care for patients even if they do not have health insurance
- Calendar of National Health Observances that librarians can use to coordinate health promotion events at their libraries.
View the short tutorial specifically for librarians at (http://www.healthfinder.gov/tutorial/default.asp#librarian) and learn how to use healthfinder.gov to easily locate the health and wellness information library patrons are looking for.
Visit www.healthfinder.gov and see why it is listed as one of the Medical Library Association’s Top Ten Most Useful Web Sites.
Posted by:
Terri Ottosen, M.L.I.S., AHIP
Consumer Health Outreach Coordinator
NN/LM Southeastern Atlantic Region
University of Maryland, Baltimore
Health Sciences & Human Services Library
601 West Lombard Street
Baltimore, MD 21201-1512
800-338-7657
410-706-2855
Fax: 410-706-0099
tottosen@hshsl.umaryland.edu