Consumer Health Information
Engines of Empowerment: Using Information Technology to Create Health Communities and Challenge Public Policy discusses how information technologies can be used to deliver community health services and improve national standards of living. Case studies illustrate the social and economic benefits of information technology, especially among less advantaged groups. Engines also examines the policies that are shaping the National Information Infrastructure and raises the question of whether these essential community information tools will survive the current healthcare reform initiatives. To order, contact the Health Administration Press at (703)450-9952; $36.
Highway to Health: Transforming U.S. Health Care in the Information Age analyzes the impact of the National Information Infrastructure on the health care market and uncovers the potential it offers to increase access to higher quality, more cost-effective, patient-centered care for every citizen. To order, send $25 plus $3.50 shipping and handling to the Concil on Competitiveness, 1401 H Street NW., Suite 650, Washington, DC 20005. Also available elctronically at http://nii.nist.gov/coc_hghwy_to_hlth/temp_title_page.html.
Health and the New Media: Technologies Transforming Personal and Public Health, edited by Linda M. Harris, assesses the impact of new media on the health care system by looking at the juxtaposition of the two. The book offers a New Media and Health Care matrix of criteria for building a nd evaluating emerging health care systems. It also includes sections on the delivery of health care, the potential for extending the traditional flow of health information, and integrating multimedia health programming for public schools. The book is available in cloth for $59.95 and in paper for $24.50 from Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., 10 Industrial Avenue, Mahwah, NJ 07430-2262; (201)236-9500; Fax (201)236-0072. E-mail to: orders@leahq.mhs.compuserve.com.
The same volume has stimulated the creation of a "Forum on Health and the New Media" on the World Wide Web (http://Health.Dartmouth.edu/New Media) which offers highlights of the book as well as links to the authors and related Web sites.
The Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care in the United States is the product of 10 years of research by a team led by medical care epidemiologist John E. Wennberg of Dartmouth Medical School. A 200-page volume, the atlas shows the geographic distribution of health care resources in the United States. It divides the country into 3,436 hospital service areas, which were aggregated into 306 hospital referral regions based on patterns of care. A collaborative effort among the American Hospital Association, Dartmouth Medical School, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the atlas is available by calling (800)AHA-2626 or writing to P.O. Box 92683, Chicago, IL 60675-2683. Ask for catalog #044100; $295 plus $17.95 shipping and handling for members, and $350 plus $20.95 shipping and handling for nonmembers.
The 1996 Consumer Health Informatics Directory, edited by Tim Kieschnick, Linda Adler, and Holly Jimison, is a resource guide for the use of computers in patient education, health promotion, and informed patient decision making. The directory features product overviews and listings and research overviews for over 400 products. It is available for $39.95 by calling (800)638-0672 or faxing (800)447-8438.
In Health Online, Tom Ferguson explains how to get set up with a computer and
modem, and takes readers on a step-by-step tour through the self-help neighborhoods of
America Online, Compu-Serve, and Prodigy. He also gives
extensive coverage of the most important groups and information sources on the Internet,
including sites of the World Wide Web. The epilogue provides perspective on what all this
means and speculates how online self-help may change our health care system. For more
information contact Addison-Wesley at Jacob Way, Reading MA 01867, (617)944-3700 or 170
Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, (212)463-8440.
In Video
Nutrition
Developed by the Food and Drug Administration, The Food Label and You: Check It Out! is a 7 1/2-minute educational video that demonstrates how consumers can quickly and easily use the food label to meet their personal nutritional needs. Viewers are shown how to use the Nutrition Facts panel to make informed food choices. For more information about the content of the video, please contact Naomi Kulakow at (202)205-8682. To order the video, contact the Duplication Department of Interface Video Systems at (202)861-0500. The cost, including postage, is $8.95 per VHS copy. Payment can be made by MasterCard, VISA, check, or money order, payable to Interface Video Systems.
In Print
Nutrition
Produced by the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services, Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, fourth edition, provides information on the kinds of foods to eat and how to eat in moderation. Guidelines also explains low-fat diets and food labels. To obtain a copy, write the National Health Information Center (NHIC) at P.O. Box 1133, Washington, DC 20013-1133; (800)336-4797. To receive or view an electronic version of Guidelines on the World Wide Web, go to http://odphp.osophs.dhhs.gov/pubs/dietguid/default.htm.
Substance Abuse: Alcohol and Other Drugs
George Mason University's Center for the Advancement of Public Health is working with Rutgers University's Center of Alcohol Studies to gather information about existing college campus programs on alcohol abuse. This project is designed to collect successful campus-based strategies, resources, and approaches. Researchers intend to publish descriptions of successful programs in the fall. Anyone aware of alcohol awareness programs on college campuses is asked to contact Ms. Aiyshen Stanley at (703)993-3697.
Food and Drug Safety
The Food and Drug Administration has released a number of new publications and reprints, including a publication entitled If You Eat Raw Oysters, You Need to Know, which cautions people with certain medical conditions about the dangers of eating raw seafood. Also available are three free FDA Consumer reprints on different topics. The titles and publication numbers are: An FDA Guide to Choosing Medical Treatments (FDA) 95-1223, Keeping Medical Devices Safe from Electromagnetic Interference (FDA) 95-1223, and Public Affair Specialists: FDA's Walking Encyclopedias (FDA) 95-1222. To order single copies, write to FDA, HFE-88, Rockville, MD 20857. To order 2 to 100 copies, write to FDA, HFI-40, at the same address, or fax your order to (301)443-9057. Include the publication number.
Diabetes and Chronic Disabling Conditions
Menopause and Osteoporosis: Choices for a Healthy Future offers information on the prevention, causes, and treatment of osteoporosis. The 20-page booklet also answers questions on menopause, estrogen replacement therapy, calcium, osteoporosis risk factors and more. To order a free copy of the brochure, call or write The National Osteoporosis Foundation at 1150 17th Street NW., Suite 500, Washington, DC 20036-4603; (202)223-2226.
Alzheimer's Disease Education & Referral Center (ADEAR), a service of the National Institute on Aging (NIA), has released its Progress Report on Alzheimer's Disease, 1995, which details the progress of federally supported Alzheimer's disease research. The report informs health professionals, researchers, family and lay caregivers, and the public about the directions and progress in research funded by the NIA and other institutes of health during the previous year. To receive a single copy free of charge, call the ADEAR Center at (800)438-4380.
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