Consumer health/family resources
This very selective list serves as a gateway to consumer health information for families and children. Highlighted web sites are deliberately chosen to lead families to general web resources that direct users to more specific information about the special health and disability issues that they and their children face. See the disclaimer below.
Evaluating health information on the web
These three online tools can help consumers judge the accuracy, reliability, and currency of information found on the Internet.
U.S. Government health agencies
MedlinePlus
The best "first stop" for consumer health information from the National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Health. Its "trusted health information" covers drugs, health topics and clinical trials; access to PubMed to find medical literature; as well as helpful links to an array or other health resources.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
"Healthy People in a Healthy World - Through Prevention" is the goal of this information on disease prevention and control, environmental health sites, and health promotion and education activities. A good source of data and statistics.
Healthfinder
"Your guide to reliable health information." The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offers this key resource to government and nonprofit sources of consumer health information. This authoritative source is visually less formal than MedlinePlus.
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
From the National Institute of Health, this web site explains complementary and alternative medicine, details treatment information and provides advisories and alerts.
U.S. Surgeon General's Family Health Initiative
This computerized tool helps users create a sophisticated portrait of their family's generations and health disorders. "My Family Health Portrait" provides a graphical representation of a family's generations and health disorders that may have moved from one generation to the next.
General consumer health web sites
MedlinePlus
Start with this site as a guide to a comprehensive compilation of consumer health information. Its "trusted health information" covers many health topics with helpful links to an array or other health resources. From the National Library of Medicine the National Institutes of Health.
The Merk Manual -Second Home Edition
This valuable reference delivers detailed and dependable information on the fundamentals of health, accidents and specific conditions. This "highly detailed, complete and authoritative" resource covers many difficult medical concepts in everyday language."
NOAH: New York Online Access to Health (also in Spanish)
Each link from this site's extensive list of health topics includes sections on definitions, care and treatments and concerns and complications. A helpful word search features is included. Although developed for New York state, there is plenty data here for anyone.
My Personal Health Record
Medical abbreviations, dictionaries and encyclopedias
MedlinePlus Medical Dictionary
Drawn from the popular Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary are clear definitions of medical terms and a pronunciation key for each.
Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia
The respected adam Health Illustrated Encyclopedia provides articles about "diseases, tests, symptoms, injuries, and surgeries, as well as an extensive library of medical photographs and illustrations."
Medi-Lexicon
An extensive online database of medical, pharmaceutical, biomedical and healthcare acronyms and abbreviations.
Clinical trials
CenterWatch - Clinical Trials Listing Service
Trial listings, notification services and drug directories from a company focusing on the clinical trials industry, both private and government.
ClinicalTrials.gov
Specific information on disease, location, treatment and other detailed resources on clinical trials are provided by this National Institutes of Health search engine.
MedlinePlus Clinical Trials
A general overview of clinical trials, information about specific conditions, laws and statistics as well as children and clinical trials.
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Pediatrics
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
The premier professional association for pediatricians, the AAP web site also offers consumers extensive information and resources on children's physical, mental and social health.
Child Nutrition
Healthy food choices, nutrient deficiencies and nutrition for kids with cancer are among the topics presented in this focused page from MedlinePlus.
General Pediatrics
"The general pediatrician's view of the Internet" This resource features such sections as common problems for patients and families, A-Z for patients and multilingual patient resources, as well as extensive links for various body systems and disorders
KidsHealth - From the Nemours Foundation
While kids and teens are checking out their own sections of this Nemours Foundation web site (see "Just for Kids" and "Teens Health," below), parents can look into medical conditions, child development and special articles on timely topics of interest..
Conditions and diseases
Presented here are general web sites that deal with a variety of related disorders. To find more definitive information or to locate information on a specific condition or disease, examine the contents or home page of the general site for appropriate links and use the search capability of each resource.
Children: Heart Disease & Health
Addressing both congenital and acquired heart diseases, this American Heart Association site provides information, links and various other resources to such topics as heart murmurs, beneficial exercise, Kawasaki disease and DeGeorge syndrome.
Children's Cancer Web Page
This directory of childhood cancer resources covers the various types of cancer, treatment, research and support and organizations. An excellent tool from CancerIndex.
National Childhood Cancers - National Cancer Institute
Resources from the National Institutes of Health display sections on treatment, prevention, causes, testing and clinical trials, along with links to many other resources
National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute: Disease and Conditions Index
Asthma, sickle cell anemia, asthma and cystic fibrosis are some of the disorders included in this government index to diseases and conditions. There is excellent patient information and a list of related public interest organizations.
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, scoliosis, atopic dermatitis and muscular dystrophy are among the topics examined in this National Institute of Health site focusing on "diseases of the bones, joints, muscles and skin."
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
In addition to links to National Institutes of Health information on the diabetes and digestive and kidney disease, there are links to health information, frequently asked questions and statistic concerning hematologic, urologic and endocrine and metabolic disorders.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Symptoms, treatment and patient resources for autism, brain injury, cerebral palsy, lupus, muscular dystrophy, and spinal bifida and many other brain and nervous system disorders can be found here. A list of Spanish language patient materials is included.
Genetic conditions and rare disorders
Genetics Home Reference: Your Guide to Understanding Genetic Conditions
A new site from the National Library of Medicine, this resource not only lists genetic conditions, explains terms, provides educational resources and patient support but also helps families learn how genetics works.
National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)
A database of uncommon diseases with an index of related organizations provides information not always found on other health sites.
Disabilities
DB-LINK – Information on Deaf-Blindness
Valuable web links and a library of materials from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Resources
IRSC- Internet Resources for Special Children
"A central starting point integrates information, resources and communication opportunities" through web links to types of disabilities, assistive technology, rehabilitation, and on-line communities. This parent-founded site gives families extensive information and welcome support.
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
With a new focus on educational practices, this update of the previous NICHY site from the U.S. Department of Education presents topical web resource pages on various disabilities, state resources, publications research sites and an e-mail service.
Child development and behavior
Child Behavior Disorders
Diagnosis, symptoms, conditions and treatment from this MedlinePlus site help families understand childhood conduct.
Child Development
MedlinePlus supplies an array of specific aspects of child development as well as organizations, overviews and directories. Helpful benchmarks for care givers.
National Mental Health Information Center
A good resource for helpful online publications, organizational links and mental health topics. This site from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is somewhat difficult to navigate but worth the effort.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health
This U.S. Department of Health and Human Services site features helpful resources on treatment, prevention, family guidance and online publications.
National Mental Health Information Center
This U.S. Department of Health and HUman Services site features helpful resources on treatment, prevention, family guidance and online publications.
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - Facts for Families
Authoritative and concise, an authoritative source gives "up-to-date information on issues that affect children, teenagers and their families" Includes questions and answers, a glossary and clinical trials.
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Safety and medications
First Aid & Safety
Parents find out what to do in emergencies and how to keep their children safe at home, outdoors and in cars. This reassuring site from the Nemours Foundation provides first-aid instruction sheets and instructions for preparing a first-aid kit.
National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care
A parent's guide to choosing child care and regulation standards for licensing of child care providers are among the key resources for parents and providers caring for children both in and away from home. From the Maternal and Child Health Bureau
National Safe Kids Campaign - Poison, Protecting Your FamilyHousehold products, medicines and an 800 poison control telephone number help caregivers be alert to and protect children from hazardous and toxic substances. A poison safety checklist and a safety e-newsletter are helpful features
National Consumer Products Safety Committee
Links to recalls of toys, child products and household and outdoor products help families avoid "unreasonable risks to children associated with consumer products." A special section helps kids learn about scooters, bike helmets and playground safety. An excellent, frequently updated site for hazard prevention.
Medications and drugs
Center for Drug Evaluation U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
From the federal agency regulating drugs, food, medical devices, cosmetics, etc, is this page featuring drug information sheets, links to drug-information web sites, and a section on pediatric drug development. The Spanish version has not been updated.
Medline Plus - Drug Information - United States Pharmacopeias (USP)
Information on prescription and over-the-counter medications is found in this extensive, authoritative resource, which also includes consumer drug information and drug warnings and recalls. See also Medicines in MedlinePlus.
Office of Dietary Supplements
Sections on labeling and claims, safety, informed decision making and extensive information about specific supplements make this a very instructive site from the National Institutes of Health.
Dietary Supplements
An overview of dietary supplements, areas of research and clinical trials are found in this section from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. The most useful feature is the list of comprehensive fact sheets about many supplements.
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Just for kids
Children's Page | (Spanish)
MedlinePlus provides kids with their own sources of information on anatomy, nutrition, emotional issues and specific conditions. Easy to read and filled with graphics, this site invites children to become informed health consumers.
FirstGov for Kids - Health
Colorful pages help children link to the resources government, organization, education and commercial sites. Valuable guidance about using the internet is included in this resource hosted by the Federal Citizen Information Center.
Kids Health | (Spanish)
Health and wellness information, from growing up and everyday illnesses and injuries to a glossary of medical terms and links about pediatric diseases, is presented by the Nemours Foundation with brightly appealing graphics and appropriate language.
Zigawhat!
"Learning, connecting, growing, coping, and fun for young people with disabilities and their peers" are spurred by this web site. A host of tips, games, kids' poems and stories and a chat room come from the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities.
Teen talk
TeensHealth | (Spanish)
Physical and emotional health, sexuality, drugs and alcohol, school and jobs and questions and answers are some of the choices offered to adolescents in their own, appealing health information site from the Nemours Foundation.
Teen's Page | (Spanish)
This page from MedlinePlus cover specific health conditions as well as nutrition and coping with links to other relevant MedlinePlus topics in this no-nonsense resource for adolescents.
Family support
Mothers from Hell2
Feisty national parents' advocacy group offers practical information, constructive advice and refreshing humor. An enlightening and bracing resource that addresses the frustrations experienced by parents of special-needs children.
Parent to Parent-USA
This national clearinghouse of informational resources and emotional support offers links to related sites, a list of state programs and a means for matching families of children with special needs with experienced, veteran parents.
Support and Assistant: Parenting (Internet Resources for Special Kids)
An extensive compilation lists informative and supportive web resources for special parents.
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Multilingual
Health Information in Multiple Languages
A collection of more than 2,000 links in 40 languages to 250 health topics extends the accessibility of many more families to authoritative health information from the National Library of Medicine. A world map and list of languages covered illustrate the range of coverage, from Arabic to Farsi and from Polish to Vietnamese.
Ask Noah: New York Online Access to Health (Spanish)
Cancer Index: Resources in Languages other than English
CancerNet- Spanish Language Information
FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) Foreign Language Documents
healthfinder - Espanol
Kids' Health
Medi-Lexicon (Spanish)MedlinePlus (Spanish)
MedlinePlus: Hispanic American Health: (Spanish)
MedlinePlus Medical Dictionary - Espanol
MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia - Espanol
MERCK Manual of Medical Information for the Home -Spanish
Multilingual Health Information
National Cancer Institute -Tratamento de Cancer Pediatrico
National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (Spanish)
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (Spanish-with links to other languages)
National Network of Libraries of Medicine -Consumer Health Materials in Spanish
Disclaimer
This very selective list serves as a gateway to consumer health information for families and children. Highlighted web sites are deliberately chosen to lead families to general web resources that lead users to locate more specific information about the special health and disability issues that they and their children face. Families can use the home page, contents list or search capability in each resource to pinpoint desired information. Families may also want to consult their child's individual health care providers for suggestions of other useful web resources. Children's Memorial Hospital does not endorse the information in the web sites linked from this list. The information and resources on this web site are not a substitute for diagnosis or treatment from a professional health-care provider.
Send comments to Irene Wood, Brennemann Library.