Clinical Preventive Services
MedMark, a web site with bookmarks to medical sites (http:/www.medmark.org/), has updated its Preventive Medicine links. Links include associations and societies, centers and institutes, colleges, education and training sites, information for consumers, government sites, guides and guidelines, hospitals and clinics, in-formation sources such as databases, media outlets, lists of resources, other organizations, and programs and projects. The site also provides general links, such as MedWeb, WebDoctor, and HealthWeb.

Women
The National Women’s Health Information Center (NWHIC) web site and toll-free number are available for the public, health care professionals, educators, and researchers. By organizing the vast array of health information for women to a single point of entry, NWHIC will provide easier

access to information from Federal health clearinghouses and hundreds of private sector organizations. The toll-free number is (800) 994-WOMAN. The web address is http://www.4woman.org.

Substance Abuse: Alcohol and Other Drugs
A new interactive, multimedia series on CD-ROM is now available from The Bureau For At-Risk Youth for educators, prevention specialists, and other youth workers. These interactive drug prevention programs for grades 5-12 teach young people basic facts about drugs and empower them to make rational no-use decisions about drug use. The six titles in the series are for MAC or Windows systems: Drug Basics: What Everyone Needs To Know; Dangerous Drugs: Risks and Realities; Alcohol: More Dangerous Than You Think; Marijuana: Gateway to Disaster; Cocaine

and Crack: Kicks That Kill; and Tobacco: Ashes to Ashes. Each program stresses the physical and psychological consequences of drug use and teaches peer refusal and positive life skills. For more information about Dangerous Drugs 101 multimedia series or for a free catalog, write to The Bureau For At-Risk Youth, P.O. Box 760, Plainview, NY 11803-0760, or call (800) 99-YOUTH.

Educational and Community-Based Programs
The National Library of Medicine is cosponsoring a project to train trainers of senior citizens in how to access health information on the Internet. NLM is coordinating the joint project with two other components of NIH, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the Office of Research on Women’s Health, and the Health Care Financing Administration and the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. The project is administered by the SPRY (Setting Priorities for Retirement Years) Foundation in Washington, DC. For information, contact Robert Mehnert or Kathy Cravedi at (301) 496-6308.

Clinical Preventive Services
Two new reports are available from the California Center for Health Improvement (CCHI). One is on children’s health coverage and the other is on attitudes about health coverage and managed care. Parents Describe Barriers to Healthcare Services, Want Help to Keep Children Well discusses the issues California parents say they face in obtaining healthcare services for their children. These include problems obtaining health care services for uninsured children, such as dental care, health information after hours, preventive care, and mental health services, and a need for more information from their health care providers about how to keep their children well. The report is part of the Growing Up Well series.

Task Force Survey Finds 76% of Insured Californians Satisfied, 42% Report Problems is a Survey Brief featuring findings from a survey about experiences with health coverage. The survey was commissioned by the State’s Managed Care Task Force. Results showed that many Californians experience problems with health coverage, including delays in getting needed care, difficulties getting referrals to specialists, being forced to change doctors, insensitive or unhelpful

health care staff, plans not providing needed benefits, and claims payment and billing problems. For more information, contact CCHI at (916) 646-2149, fax (916) 646-2151, e-mail cchi@quiknet.com, or visit their web site at http://www.webcom.com/cchi.

Older Adults
The National Institute on Aging offers a publication, Talking With Your Doctor: A Guide for Older People, to provide helpful solutions to the problems most older people have dealing with their doctors. Topics include: choosing a doctor you can talk to, tips for good communication, getting started with a new doctor, how to talk about your health issues, discussing sensitive subjects, involving family and friends, and a resource list. The 32-page booklet is available free from the NIA Information Center weekdays from 8:30-5:00 EST at (800) 222-2225.

People with Disabilities
Several new consumer education fact sheets on hearing and speech disorders are available from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) Information Clearinghouse. The reproducible fact sheets are in a question-answer format, each containing a list of resources to contact for additional information. Topics include stuttering and other speech impediments, age-related hearing loss, noise-induced hearing loss, and Deafness and Communication Disorders Database. In addition, two new standard searches are available from the Deafness and Communication Disorders Database: Aphasia and Assistive Listening Devices. For more information, contact the NIDCD Clearinghouse, (800) 241-1044; TTY, (800) 241-1055; fax (301) 907-8830; e-mail nidcd@aerie.com; Internet: www.nih.gov/nidcd.

Tobacco
How can health care providers motivate clients to stop smoking? Several new pamphlets provide guidance. They are "Smoker: Tips for Quitting"; "Exercise: Finding the Time"; and "Exercise Your Stress Away." Free review copies of these pamphlets are available to health professionals and educators by calling (800) 775-1998, sending a fax to (408) 423-8102, or writing to Journeyworks Publishing, Dept. P7-Tobacco, P.O. Box 8466, Santa Cruz, CA 95061- 8466. For information on bulk pricing, call (800) 775-1998. Prices start at $15 for 50 pamphlets.

Mental Health and Mental Disorders
A new bibliography for caregivers addresses sexual issues affecting people with Alzheimer’s Disease. Part I, Intimacy, Sexuality, and Alzheimer’s Disease, addresses intimacy needs of people with dementia, sexuality and older people, dealing with sexually disinhibited patients, and other issues. Part II, Hypersexuality and Dementia, contains items about how to manage sexually aggressive patients with dementia who become violent. For a free copy of the bibliography, Sexuality and Alzheimer’s Disease (publication number X-22), call the Alzheimer’s Disease Education & Referral Center at (800) 438-4380.
Oral Health

An explanation of the various types of salivary gland disorders and treatments is featured in a free patient information leaflet, "Salivary Glands: What’s Normal, What’s Abnormal?" The leaflet describes the salivary glands, the four categories of abnormalities that can affect the glands, and the surgical and medical treatments available. For a free copy, send a self-addressed, stamped, business-size envelope to Salivary Glands c/o American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, One Prince Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-3357.

Diabetes and Other Chronic Disabling Conditions
Asthma Awareness Day: A Planning Guide encourages organizations to plan asthma awareness events in their communities. These events help to teach children and their families how to take control and manage asthma. The kit contains step-by-step information on planning, promoting, and launching an Asthma Awareness Day event. Because asthma has the greatest impact on African-American and Hispanic children living in urban areas, a special effort has been made to include information relevant to planners interested in reaching these populations. The guide contains sample tools used successfully in other Asthma Awareness Day events throughout the country. For a copy, call (301) 496-5717 or write National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (31/7A50), 31 Center Drive, MSC 2520, Bethesda, MD 20814-9692.

Women
The Society for the Advancement of Women’s Health Research (SAWHR) and the Public Health Service’s Office on Women’s Health have collaborated to produce an award-winning health education video for women in their late teens and early twenties. "Get Real: Straight Talk About Women’s Health" provides up-to-date information on topics such as alcohol use, depression, cancer prevention, contraception, sexually transmitted diseases, violence, eating disorders, HIV/AIDS, nutrition, smoking, and exercise. The "Get Real" package (videotape and facilitator’s guide) is available for $49.95, including shipping and handling. Checks payable to SAWHR should be sent to SAWHR, 1828 L Street, NW., Suite 625, Washington, DC 20036, or call(202) 223-8224 for more information.

Clinical Preventive Services
Community health providers in six Arizona counties will be able to build or renovate clinics that will offer basic health care to the working poor. The Arizona Department of Health Services has awarded $2.4 million in tobacco-tax funds. Health providers agreed that the facilities to be built or renovated will offer primary care services at reduced rates for at least 10 years to low-income, uninsured people who are not poor enough to enroll in Arizona’s Medicaid program. Providers also agreed to contribute to the construction costs. Contracts were awarded to Ash Fork Development Association, Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona, Chiricahua Community Health Centers, Clinica Adelante, Lake Powell Medical Center, and White Mountain Communities Health Care District.

Immunization and Infectious Diseases
As part of an effort to fully immunize 95 percent of all Colorado children from birth to age 13, the Colorado Children’s Immunization Coalition has received a grant of $132,375 from The Colorado Trust. The coalition will coordinate and implement a strategy developed by the Colorado Immunization Planning Task Force in 1997. This strategy includes enhancing a statewide electronic immunization registry and tracking system, supporting immunization providers in offering accessible and affordable vaccinations, offering education for immunization providers and parents, and making recommendations for public policy changes.

Tobacco
A new national campaign by the Food and Drug Administration will help stop tobacco sales to children. The educational campaign features radio, print, and billboard advertisements, as well as materials for retailers to display in their stores. The material uses humorous illustrations and messages to remind retailers, clerks, and customers about the law against selling tobacco to minors and the retailer’s risk of fines. In addition, the campaign is designed to encourage customers to cooperate with retailers who are trying to comply with the law. The campaign was launched in Arkansas and will expand in the spring to California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington. FDA expects to have the advertising campaign in all 50 States by the end of the year.