To say there is a plethora of health information on the Internet is an understatement. Where do you start? Who can you trust? The Health Advocate has used her experience working for executive branch health agencies and later with them as a consultant to compile a source of experts from the numerous resources of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to point you in the right direction and get you started.
from the Bench: The National Institutes of Health
NIH News in Health. A free monthly newsletter bringing you practical health information based on research from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the nation’s biomedical research agency. Read the latest edition of the NIH News here.
Research Matters. An eColumn of the latest research findings to come from the laboratories around the National Institutes of Health. Take a look at the latest editions here.
on Literacy & Learning: NIH’s National Library of Medicine
Genetics Home Reference A consumer site explaining genetic conditions. Each summary provides a concise definition of a genetic condition and a brief description of signs and symptoms. The genetic cause of the condition, its frequency, and pattern of inheritance are also explained. In addition, each summary links directly to related genes or chromosomes and to more detailed information about the condition.
MedlinePlus The companion site to Medline designed specifically for a consumer or general audience.
Entrez, the Life Sciences Search Engine This tool accesses all databases at the National Library of Medicine and is geared toward a specialized audience of clinicians and biomedical researchers.
PubMed (and Medline) The database of biomedical literature, abstracts, and citations is oriented towards the specialized audience of clinicians and biomedical researchers.
PubMed Central A collection of free and Open Access biomedical and life science journals. This database can be searched to retrieve full-text articles. The primary intended audience is clinicians and biomedical reseachers.
on Wellness & Prevention: The Centers for Disease Control 
A Cup of Health with CDC. Recommendations from the weekly report devoted to delaying disease and death, MMWR. Play Cup of Health or other recent podcasts.
Healthy People 2010. Every decade, the CDC releases a comprehensive public health planning document that looks at trends in health and disease to set goals for improving the health of Americans over the decade. Specifically, it seeks to increase life expectancy and quality of life by helping individuals gain the knowledge, motivation, and opportunities they need to make informed decisions about their health. At the same time, this decennial strategic plan for health also encourages local and State leaders to develop community-wide and statewide efforts that promote healthy behaviors, create healthy environments, and increase access to high-quality health care.
Health, United States. This is the annual compilation of health statistics 
trends prepared by CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. The most current edition includes a special section focusing on access to care . “There has been important progress made in many areas of health…But this report shows that access to health care is still an issue where we need improvement.” states CDC Director Julie Gerberding, MD, MPH. Read the latest and most reliable health statistics here.
on Treatment:
ClinicalTrials.gov provides patients, family members, and members of the public easy and free access to information on clinical studies for a wide range of diseases and conditions This is a public service of NIH’s National Library of Medicine along with the Federal Drug Administration (FDA). It is a registry of clinical trial research studies conducted in the US and worldwide. It provides a synopsis of the purpose of the study, eligibility requirements, and contact information.
Last modified: 4/14/2009
