swine flu

Finding Credible Health Information Online: MedLibs Round 1.8

November 11, 2009 | by Walter Jessen

Welcome to the eighth edition of MedLib’s Round, the monthly blog carnival that highlights some of the best writing on medical librarianship, encompassing all stages in the publication and dissemination of medical information: writing, publishing, searching, citing, managing and social networking.

There’s a revolution occurring on the Web: those “authoritative” articles written on traditional, static websites are being replaced with blogs, wikis and online social networks. In the sphere of health, medicine and information technology, this “real-time Web” consists of many who are professionals in the field; their posts are listed below.
In the digital age, these are the characteristics of new media: recent, relevant, reachable and reliable.

Here at Highlight HEALTH, we advocate health literacy for improving self-management in health. To that end, all the sites in the The Highlight HEALTH Network strive to consistently provide credible, reliable sources of health and medical information.

A 2008 study by the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest found that searching for health information online can be dangerous, with search engine results pages dominated by websites that appeared legitimate but had zero medical authority [1]. Our hope is that this edition of MedLib’s Round — themed Finding credible health information online — will offer ideas and advice to help people use the Web more effectively to search and find credible health information.

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What You Need to Know About the H1N1 Vaccine

October 1, 2009 | by Walter Jessen

We’ve received a number of questions and concerns about the swine flu and the H1N1 vaccine. Indeed, a new survey by the Harvard School of Public Health finds that six in ten adults are not “absolutely certain” they will get the H1N1 vaccine, citing concerns over side effects, lack of perceived risk and belief that they could receive medication if they do get sick [1]. Just over half of parents surveyed report being “absolutely certain” they well get the vaccine for their children. To help disseminate credible information on the H1N1 vaccine and provide additional sources for review, we’ve put together a list of questions and answers addressing what you need to know about the H1N1 vaccine.

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H1N1 Vaccine Study Summaries: Single Dose Provides Protection

September 15, 2009 | by Walter Jessen

Preliminary results from two studies published online last week by the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) show that a single dose of the H1N1 vaccine will offer protection for most adults within three weeks of vaccination [1-2]. This is good news in the fight against H1N1, since the vaccine won’t be ready until the start of flu season. On Sunday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that some vaccine may be available as early as the first full week in October [3].

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Health Highlights – June 18th, 2009

June 18, 2009 | by Walter Jessen

Health Highlights is a biweekly summary of particularly interesting articles from credible sources of health and medical information that we follow & read. For a complete list of recommeded sources, see our links page.

Failure’s ROI | phil baumann online
Phil Baumann draws a connection between today’s omnipresent theme to succeed, grief and failure, and the evolving world of social media. Angels fall fast from the sky, but roots grow deep in the darkness.
SPF 100 Sunblock | Mark’s Daily Apple
Mark Sisson highlights a recent New York Times article describing seriously misleading marketing lingo regarding SPF measures. The take-home message? Use the normal SPF 30, use clothing and shade to protect your skin, and limit your time in the sun.
Elsewhere on the web – May 2009 | Cancer Research UK – Science Update
The Science Update blog at Cancer Research UK presents a great video describing the differences between skin burns and sunburn. You can triple your risk of melanoma (the most serious type of skin cancer) by getting a painful sunburn just once every two years, so don’t let sunburn catch you out.
Makes My Blood Boil | Mark’s Daily Apple
Another great article by Mark Sisson describes a recent medical scare over blood pressure (BP). While the medical profession may recommend testing for BP once a year, you’d be better off buying a home-testing monitor and regularly checking your BP.
Is translational research impaired by an emphasis on basic science? | Science-Based Medicine
Tim Kreider shares his view on a recent Newsweek editorial critical of academia and the process of bench-to-bedside research. He advances that the process of science is slow and winding by necessity and scientists should be conservative about sending new therapies to the clinic.
When do we peak mentally – depends on what mental ability we are talking about | Brain Health Hacks
Think you're at the top of your game? Maybe, maybe not. Ward Plunet at Brain Health Hacks reviews data from a longitudinal study on mental ability as we age.
Swine Flu Monitor: World Health Organization May Raise Alert Level | ThePatientReport.com
As the WHO contemplates raising the pandemic alert level, ThePatientReport.com explains what a pandemic actually measures.

Health 2.0 Highlights: June 6th, 2009

June 6, 2009 | by Walter Jessen

Want to know what I ware? | RobFraser.ca
Keeping with the meme of essential medical software and "core apps", Rob Fraser describes his physical and virtual desktop.
Create an automatic differential diagnosis list with Google Squared | Clinical Cases and Images – Blog
Dr. Ves Dimov spotlights Google Squared and provides an example of its use as a tool for medical educators to build and share their own squares.
Social media artists- the new generation patient opinion leader | whydot pharma
Influential bloggers reassuring patients, community leaders petitioning for a cause, crowdsourcing ideas for health, sharing stories to raise awareness … these are just some of the methods used by a new generation of patient opinion leaders.
Beyond Wikipedia | The Health Care Blog
Physicians, like health consumers, rely heavily on search engines. Although Wikipedia entires often appear at the top of organic results and are frequently the first reference reviewed, doctors should be concerned about accuracy.
Twitter goes Viral: Swine Flu Outbreak – Twitter a Dangerous Hype? | Laika’s MedLibLog
In the midst of the swine flu outbreak, Laika examines whether Twitter is a reliable news source or just hype and useless for finding accurate information.

What You Need to Know About the H1N1 Vaccine

H1N1 Vaccine Study Summaries: Single Dose Provides Protection

Health Highlights – June 18th, 2009

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