Seek Knowledge About Your Health

Learning about your health is a lifelong process. As we age, we need to know different things about how to live as long and as well as we can. In our teens, we may need more information on "risky" behaviors and sexual maturity. As young adults, reproductive health and preventing chronic disease may be key concerns. In mid-life we may be interested in learning more about managing a chronic disease or helping a loved one manage their health.

Understanding Basics about Health & Knowing Your Health Risks

Health risk assessments (HRAs) can be as simple as a quick set of focused questions offered in a brief pencil and paper quiz, or they can be a lengthy online questionnaire that asks for a wide range of personal health information. HRAs may be provided by your physician as part of a new patient intake, your employer as part of a wellness or health promotion activity or even made available at a community -wide health fair. HRAs are designed to help identify areas of your health or your health behaviors that may need attention to either prevent or minimize the impact of a potential disease or health impairment.

"HowsYourHealth," a questionnaire, sponsored by Dartmouth College researchers, can help you determine areas of your health and well-being to seek help or to discuss with your doctor.
http://www.howsyourhealth.com/

The Mayo Clinic Health has developed a health assessment risk appraisal form to help people identify risky behaviors to modify.
http://mayoclinichealthsolutions.com/products/Health-Assessment.cfm

RealAge provides health information from doctors, epidemiologists, and medical writers. It has 65 health tests and tools customized to give advice about risks.
http://www.realage.com/

Siteman Cancer Center with Washington University School of Medicine has developed a disease risk assessment tool.
http://www.yourdiseaserisk.wustl.edu/

Genetic testing

More detailed health assessments can be provided by having genetic testing. Here are some resources that explain genetic testing:

"Genetics Home Reference" developed by the U.S. National Library of Medicine provides information about what genetic testing is, how it is performed, and how to interpret results.
http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/testing

Aetna InteliHealth developed by the insurance carrier has a "Genetic Testing Guide" that provides information related to genetic tests.
http://www.aetnaintelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/undefined/32193/32193.html

Learning about an illness or condition

If you have a chronic disease such as asthma or diabetes, your condition and your daily activities may be greatly influenced by how well you understand and manage your health. Information is likely to be provided by your doctor and also offered by organizations in your community like a local American Cancer Society or your state health department.

A few resources include:

Alzheimer's Association: http://www.alz.org/index.asp

American Cancer Society: http://www.cancer.org/

American Diabetes Association: http://www.diabetes.org/

American Heart Association: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/

HIV/AIDS-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/default.htm

Trusted Online Health Resources

The American College of Physicians (ACP) Foundation through Health TiPS has created an easy to understand guide about a variety of health topics including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), depression, hypertension, smoking, and vaccine information. Information is available in printable one-page forms in English and Spanish allowing you to fill it out and take it to your doctor's appointment.
http://www.acpfoundation.org/hl/e_htips.htm

NIH's Medline Plus is also a good one-stop-shop for basic health information. The site includes a medical encyclopedia to look up tricky words, information on hundreds of prescriptions by brand name, and links to doctors, hospitals and medical libraries across the country.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/

The National Health Information Center, part of the NIH system, lists more than 1,400 organizations and government offices that can provide free health information upon request.
http://www.health.gov/nhic/

For a quick online rundown on a condition, The National Institutes of Health Web site might be the best place to start searching. This site allows you to search for information on a condition by its location in the body, the disease name, or by health issues such as smoking or weight gain.
http://health.nih.gov/

The Office of Dietary Supplements from the National Institute of Health provides updated fact sheets on commonly used herbs, supplements and vitamins.
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/list-all

WebMD/Medscape is a reliable standby in the online medical universe. The site offers much of the same general information as the government sites mentioned above, but its style may be friendlier to Web surfers who don't normally browse government sites.
http://www.webmd.com/

You can also start your search at one of the newer consumer-oriented sites that offers basic health information complete with video guides, chat rooms, expert blogs, newsletters and personal health recordkeeping services. MedHelp and Mayo Clinic are good examples of other general health information websites.

On the Phone

The National Institutes of Health offers much of the basic information available on their Web sites through toll-free hotlines. Hotline operators can send you basic information on diseases, treatments and clinical trials. The first 20 pamphlets you request are free, and the rest can be sent for the cost of shipping. Increasingly, the hotline information is also available in Spanish.

Some of the major hotlines include:

• HIV/AIDS: (800) HIV-0440
• Alzheimer's Disease: (800) 438-4380
• Cancer: (800) 4-CANCER
• Heart, Lung, and Blood Disease: (800) 575-WELL
• Diabetes: (800) 860-8747
• Brain, Spinal Cord and Nerve Diseases: (800) 352-9424
• Stroke: (800) 352-9424

Trusting your online health searches

The Internet can be a gold mine for health information seekers, but separating the helpful and accurate from the inaccurate and downright dangerous can be a daunting task. Here's what you're looking for: information that's based on scientific evidence and information that comes from an unbiased source. For example, maybe it's not a good idea to get arthritis advice from the makers of a new pill promising a 3-day cure for arthritis. Information should be regularly updated and vetted by a neutral third party. Sounds like a lot to look for, but the resources below can point you in the right direction.

The National Institutes of Health's MedlinePlus has a guide to "healthy" Web-surfing.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthywebsurfing.html

The Medical Library Association (MLA) offers advice on evaluating health Web sites and recommends top ten websites for cancer, diabetes and heart disease information.
http://www.mlanet.org/resources/userguide.html

CAPHIS, a section of the Modern Language Association, also maintains a Top 100 list of best health Websites.
http://caphis.mlanet.org/consumer/index.html

The National Cancer Institute's fact sheet about evaluating health information on the Internet offers tips for determining whether a Web site is potentially biased, unreliable, or out of date.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Information/internet

Health Compass, a site from the American Federation for Aging Research and the Merck Institute of Aging and Health, can help older people navigate the Internet for health information.
http://www.healthcompass.org/

The Health on the Net Foundation has created a code of conduct (HONcode) that spells out rules for maintaining reliable and credible health information Web sites. Sites that abide by these rules can receive a HONcode seal of approval.
http://www.hon.ch/HONcode/

Updated: September 2011