Health Information Resources

The Rural Assistance Center is not focused on providing health information. However, we provide some resources you can consult to learn about specific health conditions. Follow the links on the left navigation bar to access these sources.

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• Help for Individuals

Tools

2010 Federal Health Information Centers and Clearinghouses
Web site
Provides information on health clearinghouses and information centers that focus on specific topics. Services include distributing publications, providing referrals, and answering inquiries. Many offer Web sites or toll-free numbers.
Sponsoring organization: National Health Information Center

2010 Toll-Free Numbers for Health Information
Web site
Provides health-related information, education, and support. These organizations do not diagnose or recommend treatment for any disease. Included services include, but are not limited to: rare diseases, crisis intervention, fitness, and adoption.
Sponsoring organization: National Health Information Center

AGRICOLA
Database
Comprises the National Agricultural Library Article Citation Database of resources such as: books, serials, and audiovisuals.
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Agriculture

American Indian Health
Web site
Provides links to a variety of resources on issues related to American Indian health and well-being. Includes information on health care access, specific health conditions, and environmental health.
Sponsoring organization: National Library of Medicine

CAPHIS: Consumer and Patient Health Information Section
Web site
Provides access to health information resources and websites for consumers and patients.
Sponsoring organization: Medical Library Association

ClinicalTrials.gov
Database
Provides regularly updated information about federally and privately supported clinical research in human volunteers. Offers information about a trial's purpose, who may participate, locations, and phone numbers for more details.
Sponsoring organization: National Institutes of Health

Comprehensive Cancer Information
Database
Provides information on Cancer, including news, funding opportunities, research, clinical trials, statistics, and more.
Sponsoring organization: National Cancer Institute

CuidadoDeSalud.gov (Healthcare.gov)
Web site
Website in Spanish to help consumers take control of their health care by connecting them to new information and resources that will help them access quality, affordable health care coverage.
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Directory of Rural Health Contacts
Database
Directory information for people and organizations with an interest in rural health. Includes associations, federal offices, U.S. legislators, rural health research centers, state offices of rural health, and the media.
Sponsoring organization: Rural Assistance Center

Glossary of Terms in Managed Health Care
Web site
Lists commonly used terms in the medical provider, hospital, and managed care industries.

Health Hotlines: Toll-Free Numbers from the National Library of Medicine's DIRLINE Database
Database
Contains descriptions of more than 8,000 biomedical information resources including organizations, databases, research, and resources. Lists a variety of groups disseminating information on a number of specific diseases and disorders.
Sponsoring organization: National Library of Medicine

Health Information in Multiple Languages
Web site
Provides access to consumer health information in languages other than English.
Sponsoring organization: National Library of Medicine

Health Information Resource Database
Database
Puts health professionals and consumers who have health questions in touch with those organizations that are best able to provide answers.
Sponsoring organization: National Health Information Center

HealthCare.gov
Web site
A consumer website that provides one-stop shopping access for health care information that includes: federal and state public policies, comparison of private coverage and option plans, and personal health tools.
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Healthfinder
Database
Links to information and web sites from over 1,600 health-related organizations. Has been recognized as a key resource for finding the best government and nonprofit health and human services information on the Internet.
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

LocatorPlus
Database
Allows users to search books, journals, and audiovisuals in the National Library of Medicine collection. Contains citations to medical journal articles.
Sponsoring organization: National Library of Medicine

MayoClinic.com
Database
Provides information on diseases and conditions, drugs, books, first aid, and health tips.
Sponsoring organization: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research

MedlinePlus
Database
Authoritative and up to date health information from the National Library of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health and other trusted sources on over 800 diseases and conditions. There are directories, a medical encyclopedia and a medical dictionary, easy-to-understand tutorials on common conditions, tests, and treatments, information on prescription and nonprescription drugs, and links to clinical trials. Information can be found in more than 40 languages.
Sponsoring organization: National Library of Medicine

Mesothelioma Web
Web site
Provides background information on asbestos exposure; mesothelioma symptoms, treatment, and stages; and how veterans can get help through the VA.

My HealtheVet
Web site
Serves as the gateway to veteran health benefits and services by providing access to health information; links to Federal and VA benefits and resources; the Personal Health Journal; and online VA prescription drug refill.
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

National Women's Health Information Center
Web site
Provides free health information for women via a web site and toll-free call center: 1-800-994-9662.
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

NIH SeniorHealth.gov
Web site
Features consumer health information for older adults.
Sponsoring organization: National Institutes of Health

NIH: Health Information
Web site
Contains links to health information on healthy lifestyles, research, body systems, conditions and diseases, and health and wellness.
Sponsoring organization: National Institutes of Health

NLM Gateway
Database
Allows users to search in multiple retrieval systems at the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM). Searches, among others: MEDLINE/PubMed, NLM, TOXLINE Subset, Bookshelf, MedlinePlus, ClinicalTrials.gov, DIRLINE, Meeting Abstracts, HSRProj, OMIM, and HSDB.
Sponsoring organization: National Library of Medicine

Office of Adolescent Health
Web site
Provides information and resources on adolescent health issues, including physical, mental and reproductive health, substance abuse and healthy relationships.
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

PubMed
Database
Includes over 19 million citations for biomedical articles back to the 1950's. These citations are from MEDLINE and additional life science journals. PubMed includes links to many sites providing full text articles and other related resources.
Sponsoring organization: National Library of Medicine

TOXNET
Database
A group of databases on toxicology, hazardous chemicals, environmental health, and toxic releases.
Sponsoring organization: National Library of Medicine

User's Guide to Finding and Evaluating Health Information on the Web
Tutorial
Provides tips on filtering the millions of health-related Web pages through the health subsets of major search engines and using quality electronic finding tools to initially screen websites for further examination.
Sponsoring organization: Medical Library Association

Funding

National Network of Libraries of Medicine Funding Opportunities
Small awards to network members to encourage them to interact with new communities and agencies, ideally leading to larger scale projects.

Regulations, Forms & Other Useful Documents

Glossary of Terms Commonly used in Health Care
Sponsoring organization: AcademyHealth
Divided into three sections: health care delivery and financing terms; epidemiological and statistical terms; and accounting and economic terms. Also includes an appendix that lists commonly used acronyms.
Date: 2004

Personal Health Records: Employers Proceed with Caution
Author(s): Janlori Goldman
Sponsoring organization: California HealthCare Foundation
Provides a basic overview of Personal Health Records (PHRs), a snapshot of current PHR initiatives launched by employers, legal and policy issues posed by PHRs, and questions to consider as charting a way forward.
Date: 01 / 2007

Using Technology to Deliver Healthcare Education to Rural Patients
Author(s): McIlhenny CV, Guzic BL, Knee DR, Wendekier CM, Demuth BR, Roberts JB
Describes how the Internet can help rural health facilities get access to current health education materials for their patients.
Journal citation: Rural and Remote Health Volume 11 Pages: 1798
Date: 10 / 2011

Journals

MCH Alert
Provides references to research findings, policy developments, recently released publications, new programs, and initiatives affecting the maternal and child health (MCH) community. This is a free, weekly electronic newsletter. Sponsoring organization: National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health

Organizations

CancerCare
National organization
Offers support for healthcare professionals in the form of educational materials for patients, distance learning programs, and professional consultation. Also, provides support services to anyone affected by cancer.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Federal government
Lead federal agency for protecting the health and safety of people at home and abroad. Work includes disease prevention and control, environmental health, and health promotion and education activities designed to improve the health of the people of the United States.

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
Federal government
Works to improve and expand access to quality health care for all. Part of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

National Health Information Center (NHIC)
Federal government
Health information referral service which puts health professionals and consumers who have health questions in touch with those organizations that are able to provide answers.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
Federal government
Responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related disease and injury. Part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it provides an information service on workplace health and safety issues.

National Library of Medicine (NLM)
Federal government
The world's largest medical library. Producer of MEDLINE, PubMed and MEDLINEplus.

Terms & Acronyms

Grey Literature A field in library and information science that deals with the production, distribution, and access to multiple document types produced on all levels of government, academics, business, and organization in electronic and print formats not controlled by commercial publishing i.e. where publishing is not the primary activity of the producing body.