Web Resources for Community Health and Health Education

America’s Health Rankings. 2006. United Health Foundation.
http://www.unitedhealthfoundation.org/ahr2006/index.html
Download the entire report (pdf) : http://www.unitedhealthfoundation.org/ahr2006/media2006/shrmediakit/2006ahr.pdf

Florida’s health ranking: http://www.unitedhealthfoundation.org/ahr2006/states/Florida.html

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
http://www.cdc.gov/brfss/index.htm
(BRFSS) is the world’s largest, on-going telephone health survey system, tracking health conditions and risk behaviors in the United States yearly since 1984. Conducted by the 50 state health departments as well as those in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands with support from the CDC, BRFSS provides state-specific information about issues such as asthma, diabetes, health care access, alcohol use, hypertension, obesity, cancer screening, nutrition and physical activity, tobacco use, and more.
Site provides searchable database of state prevalence data, trends, historical information, etc.

Community Needs Assessment.  Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center. Emory University.
http://www.healthlibrary.emory.edu/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=128
Meta site for research on community needs assessment for a broad variety of public health topics.

FloridaCHARTS. Community Health Assessment Resource Tool Set.
http://www.floridacharts.com/charts/chart.aspx
Comprehensive searchable database of State statistics on the Florida population: births, morbidities, mortality and behavioral risk factors. Includes data on communicable and chronic diseases, county profiles, and State vs. national comparisons of health status indicators.

International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health
http://www3.who.int/icf/icftemplate.cfm?myurl=checklist.html&mytitle=ICF%20Checklist

A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/encyclopedia.html
Part of Medline Plus, includes over 4,000 articles about diseases, tests, symptoms, injuries, and surgeries. It also contains an extensive library of medical photographs and illustrations.

MEDLINEplus
http://medlineplus.gov/
Targeted to the medical consumer and healthcare workers. "MedlinePlus brings together authoritative information from NLM, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other government agencies and health-related organizations. Preformulated MEDLINE searches are included in MedlinePlus and give easy access to medical journal articles. MedlinePlus also has extensive information about drugs, an illustrated medical encyclopedia, interactive patient tutorials, and latest health news."

Medscape (From WebMD)
www.medscape.com
Medscape offers specialists, primary care physicians, and other health professionals  integrated medical information and educational tools. Requires 1-time, free registration. Some of Medscape's key features include: Original, professional medical content, including review articles, journal commentary, expert columns, patient education articles, book reviews, and more; more than 850 online CME activities.

healthfinder.gov. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
http://www.healthfinder.gov/  Spanish version  http://www.healthfinder.gov/espanol/
A searchable database of online health publications, many in Spanish,  by U.S. federal organizations, found under “Prevention and Wellness.” For example, a search of “substance abuse” leads to recent news, e.g about teens using prescription drugs; federal organizations that deal with substance abuse problems; and over 65 links to specific programs, agencies or documents on specific issues, including an FAQ on inhalants, in Spanish and in English.

Federal Health Information Centers and Clearinghouses. Directory.
http://www.health.gov/nhic/pubs/clearinghouses.htm
A one-stop location for information and links to more than 60 specialized health information centers and clearinghouses of the U.S. government. “Their services include distributing publications, providing referrals, and answering inquiries. Many offer Web sites or toll-free numbers.” The list can be browsed by keyword or by center name.

County Health Departments:

Charlotte County Health Department
http://www.doh.state.fl.us/chdCharlotte/

Collier County Health Department
http://www.doh.state.fl.us/chdcollier/index.html

Glades County Health Department
http://www.doh.state.fl.us/chdGlades/home.html

Hendry County Health Department
http://www.doh.state.fl.us/chdHendry/home.html

Lee County Health Department
http://www.lee-county.com/healthdept/

Florida Department of Health
http://www.doh.state.fl.us/

Healthy People 2010
http://www.healthypeople.gov
The U.S. goals and objectives for national public health and prevention, documenting the most serious preventable problem areas and ways to address them. The site includes related Healthy People publications  including “Leading Health Indicators, ” and “Healthy People in Healthy Communities; A Community Planning Guide.” Links are provided to specific initiatives, such as Healthy Youth! For adolescent health.

Healthy People 2010 Information Access Project.
http://phpartners.org/hp/
“The purpose of this site is to make information and evidence-based strategies related to the Healthy People 2010 objectives easier to find. The National Library of Medicine and the Public Health Foundation staff have worked together to develop pre-formulated search strategies for selected Healthy People 2010 focus areas.” These clickable strategies automatically search PubMed, and provide links to many sites providing full text articles and other related resources. 

Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce.  Health Promotion and Health Education.
http://phpartners.org/
“Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce is a collaboration of U.S. government agencies, public health organizations, and health sciences libraries which provides timely, convenient access to selected public health resources on the Internet.”  The Health Promotion and Health Education webpages provide resources for health educators and health promotion specialists.

Local health and human services agencies
United Way. Directory of Human services organizations.  (Lee, Glades & Hendry counties.) http://www3.irissoft.com/LCUW/

Older American Update: Key Indicators of Well-being (2006).
http://www.agingstats.gov/agingstatsdotnet/Main_Site/Data/Data_2006.aspx

World Health Organization.
http://www.who.int/en/
“WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries and monitoring and assessing health trends.” Website provides the “WHO Agenda” for global health, a  wealth of health information and publications, and descriptions of health programs and projects worldwide.

WHO Statistical Information System (WHOSIS)
http://www3.who.int/whosis/menu.cfm

College Student Health

 

American College Health Association. Guidelines.
http://www.acha.org/info_resources/guidelines.cfm
Includes Position Statement on Tobacco on College and University Campuses

Campus Health and Safety. Center for College Health and Safety.
http://www.campushealthandsafety.org/
Has an extensive section: Resources and References.

College Drinking Prevention web site.
http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/         

Trends in College Binge Drinking. Journal of American College Health. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/cas/Documents/trends/Trends.

“Healthy Campus 2010.”American College Health Association.
http://www.acha.org/info_resources/hc2010.cfm
Site also includes a section of web links and online resources.

National Adolescent Health Information Center. Improving the Health of Adolescents and Young Adults: A Guide for States and Communities.
http://nahic.ucsf.edu/index.php/companion/index/

National Center for Cultural Competence.
http://www11.georgetown.edu/research/gucchd/nccc/
Promoting Cultural Diversity and Cultural Competency has an online “Self-Assessment Checklist for Personnel Providing Services and Supports to Children with Special Health Needs and their Families, and provides useful Web links on cultural competence, as well as the searchable “Cultural and Linguistic Competence Resource Database” of resource materials.

Office of Minority Health. (U.S.)
http://www.omhrc.gov/
Includes text of statistical reports and the "Closing the Gap" Newsletters from 1995 to the present, a link to a Webcast of the Healthy People 2010 Session on Eliminating Minority Health Disparities, and many other useful links.

Cross-cultural, transcultural, cultural competence – resources & links
http://medicine.ucsf.edu/resources/guidelines/culture.html
A metasite by the U.C.-San Francisco School of Medicine.

Curriculum Guide on Cultural Competence. George Washington University.
http://www.gwu.edu/~iscopes/LearningMods_Culture.htm
Text of an educational curriculum.

Cross Cultural Health Care Program. Seattle, WA
http://www.xculture.org/resource/order/index.cfm
A Seattle-based program focusing on cultural and linguistic aspects of health care provision. The "books and resources" section provides a bibliography of books; information and links to search the CCHCP Library, to curricular materials, and more.

Resources for Cross Cultural Health Care
http://www.diversityrx.org/HTML/WERCCH.htm
"A national network of individuals and organizations in ethnic communities and health care organized to offer technical assistance and information on linguistic and cultural competence in health care." Website has the searchable DiversityRx database of abstracts of model programs on cultural competence; text of a report, "Multicultural Health Best Practices Overview"; and useful links.

National Rural Health Association
http://www.nrharural.org/
National membership organization for advocacy, education and research. Site includes policy briefs, issue papers; abstracts & indexing, as well as free full-text of the current issue, of the Journal of Rural Health; many links to governmental issues; information for rural health practitioners and much more.

CULTURAL COMPETENCE IN HEALTH CARE: EMERGING FRAMEWORKS AND PRACTICAL APPROACHES
http://www.cmwf.org/usr_doc/betancourt_culturalcompetence_576.pdf
A 40 page report sponsored by the Commonwealth Fund in 2002; an excellent overview of the issues.

National Alliance for Hispanic Health
http://www.hispanichealth.org/
Website of a large national network of health and human services providers, serving as a national forum offering leadership,advocacy and research for the health of Hispanics. Resources include action reports, Health Fact Sheets, analysis of gaps in the Healthy People 2010 Report, Hispanic Health Needs Assessments, leads to scholarships and other funding sources, help hotlines, etc.

Spanish Language Health Education Materials
http://www.ethnomed.org/ethnomed/cultures/hispanic/patient_ed.html#spanish_health

National Center for Health Statistics. Centers for Disease Control.  Dept. of Health and Human Services.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/
A metasite for  U.S. health statistics. As “the nation’s principal health statistics agency” the center compiles statistics from surveys, national vital statistics, etc. and provides the major national data warehouse for health and mortality, data access tools, publications, reprots, and links. Also provides FASTSTATS A-Z for quick research.

Guide to Community Preventive Services. U.S. Centers for Disease Control. 
http://www.thecommunityguide.org/
“Evidence-based recommendations for programs and policies to promote population health. Provides a resource that tells which population-oriented prevention interventions work and at what cost across a broad range of topics. Recommendations, made by a panel of independent, nonfederal experts in public health, are based on careful systematic reviews of all available literature on a topic .”

Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention. U. S. Department of Education.
http://www.higheredcenter.org/

“The mission of the Higher Education Center is to assist institutions of higher education in developing and carrying out alcohol and other drug prevention programs that foster students' academic and social development and promote campus and community safety. A central feature of the Center's work is the promotion of multiple prevention strategies that affect the campus environment as a whole and can, thereby, have a large-scale impact on the entire campus community.” Provides resources and program development for statewide initiatives and community-campus coalitions.

Maternal and Child Health Bureau. Health Resources and Services Administration. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
http://www.mchb.hrsa.gov/

National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. U.S. Centers for Disease Control. 
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/index.htm
"The center conducts studies to better understand the causes of these diseases, supports programs to promote healthy behaviors, and monitors the health of the nation through surveys.” Site provides state profiles, exemplary state programs, CDC programs, reports, etc.

National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health. Public Policy Institute. Georgetown University.
http://www.ncemch.org/

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/ncipchm.htm
Includes the CDC Injury Fact Book, other data and statistics, information on violence prevention.

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. National Institutes of Health.
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/
Provides health publications and information on research and funding opportunities.

National Prevention Information Network.
http://www.cdcnpin.org/scripts/index.asp
Focuses on STDs, HIV/AIDS, and TB, providing multiple resources.

National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP). U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
http://www.nrepp.samhsa.gov/
A database of voluntarily contributed interventions for the prevention and treatment of substance abuse and mental disorders. While not an authoritative list, it provides examples of programs, describing goals, target population, outcomes, related publications, materials and websites. The database is searchable via topical area, age of target population. rural/urban locale, etc.

Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. US. Department of Health and Human Services.
http://odphp.osophs.dhhs.gov/
Includes the Prevention Communication Research Database (PCRD), a “searchable collection of audience research conducted or sponsored by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies. The PCRD highlights research findings that may not be widely known or published in peer-reviewed journals.” Provides links to publications including Healthy People 2010, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, issues of the quarterly Prevention Report, and to multiple prevention projects.

STD Communications Database. U.S. Centers for Disease Control. 
http://www.cdc.gov/std/commdata/default.htm
“A tool to help public health practitioners create specialized STD prevention programs. It provides access to: best practices in communications, audience profiles,  theoretical approaches, training, decision-support tools."

Coalition of National Health Education Organizations.
http://www.cnheo.org/index.html
Includes a pdf copy of the "Code of Ethics for the Health Education Profession."

National Commission for Health Education Credentialing
http://www.nchec.org/
Provides information on the Certified Health Education Specialist

Public Health Foundation.
http://www.phf.org/
“The Public Health Foundation (PHF) is dedicated to achieving healthy communities through research, training, and technical assistance. For more than 35 years, this national, non-profit organization has been creating new information and helping health agencies and other community health organizations connect to and more effectively use information to manage and improve performance, understand and use data, and strengthen the workforce.”