Consumer Health Information

Last update: 29 September 2009,
by Maureen Bell

Many sites contain both professional and consumer information. Those listed below are specifically for consumers. You will find consumer information on mental disorders on my mental health/psychiatry page . To search for consumer health literature it's preferable to use MEDLINEplus (see link below) rather than Medline

AHRQ: For Your Health
From the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in the United States.

Disease Risk Index
This important health tool was originally developed at the Harvard Center for Cancer Prevention at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Go Ask Alice!
Go Ask Alice! is the health question and answer Internet site produced by Alice!, Columbia University’s Health Education Program division of the Columbia University Health Service. "Alice" answers questions about relationships; sexuality; sexual health; emotional health; fitness; nutrition; alcohol, nicotine and other drugs; and general health.

Health Information - National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Information from the National Institutes of Health in the United States.

Healthfinder
A gateway consumer health and human services information web site from the United States government.

HealthierUS.Gov
Another United States government site with health advice for consumers.

HealthInsite
The Australian Department of Health and Aged Care is developing this site to provide good quality health information to consumers and the health community. The project's main focus is on the provision of up-to-date information for health consumers, offering a broad range of information from daily health needs, to specific illnesses and life events, such as having a baby.

Healthtouch
A consumer health information site which derives its information from numerous sources, such as National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI), National Mental Health Association (NMHA), National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), and many others.

MayoClinic.com - Medical and health information for a healthier life from Mayo Clinic
This is the Mayo Clinic's online health information site. It offers users many options, from a weekly medical newsletter called Housecall to interactive features such as their popular pregnancy due date calculator. Additionally, the separate resource centers focus on specific topics such as diet and nutrition, cancer, and women's health.

MEDLINEplus (National Library of Medicine)
Emphasis of MEDLINEplus is on information available from NLM and NIH and includes links to searches of MEDLINE, and to the many full-text publications produced by the NIH institutes. Unlike other PubMed and Internet Grateful Med it is designed specifically for consumers. The information includes sections on health topics, dictionaries and glossaries for finding definitions of medical terms, links to major associations and clearinghouses, publications and news items, directories of health professionals and health facilities and libraries that provide health information services for the public. It is stated very clearly that this information is for educational purposes, and is not intended to replace advice from a health professional

Merck Manual of Medical Information - Home Edition
This publication is based on the Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, a textbook of medicine for health professionals. The Home Edition translates the language of the professionals' version into commonly used English, to provide accessible information on diseases, diagnosis, prevention and treatment.

NHS Direct Online Health Information Gateway
A directory of links to selected websites and other health information sources from the British National Health Service.

NOAH: New York Online Access to Health
Full-text health information for consumers, provided through the collaboration of a number of New York libraries, including the Metropolitan New York Library Council, the New York Academy of Medicine and the New York Public Library.

Patient UK
PiP (Patient Information Publications) is a partnership between Dr Tim Kenny and Dr Beverley Kenny. They have been GPs in Tyne and Wear, England, for over 10 years and have a particular interest in writing and providing evidence based patient information. They are editors and lead authors for the content on Patient UK.

Spine-health.com
Back pain and neck pain patient information:.

St John Ambulance Australia - First Aid Information
A collection of leaflets on emergency first aid, and first aid and safety at home.