Paula's General Research Guide: Health

The A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia includes over 4,000 articles about diseases, tests, symptoms, injuries, and surgeries. It also contains an extensive library of medical photographs and illustrations.

Medical Term online medical dictionary provides quick access to hard-to-spell and often misspelled medical definitions through an extensive alphabetical listing.

The special words doctors and nurses use can be hard to understand. You may see or hear these words at your doctor’s office, on the Internet, on the radio or TV, or in newspapers or magazines. We call these words “medspeak.” The Medical Library Association created this page to help you understand what a doctor or nurse tells you. You’ll find tips on how to understand many health words.

The Knowledge Pearls Database houses short videos containing consumer-level explanations of genetic terms. The database was developed by the Center for Knowledge Management team at Vanderbilt University Medical Center

A basic plan can help you make the most of your appointment whether you are starting with a new doctor or continuing with the doctor you’ve seen for years.
[National Institute on Aging]

How well you and your doctor communicate with each other is one of the most important parts of getting good health care. Being prepared can help you make the most of your visit, whether it is in person or through telehealth.
[MedlinePlus (U.S. National Library of Medicine)]

Download, print, or copy worksheets to organize your questions, family and medical history, and information when talking with your doctor

Why do I need to evaluate health information?
Health information is easy to find. But finding reliable health information takes a little effort. Some of the health information you get from newspapers, magazines, books, TV, the Internet, and social media is up to date and trustworthy. But some is not. That's why it's important to evaluate health information for yourself.

But how can you tell the good from the bad? There are two key steps:

Ask questions before you trust what you read or hear.
Discuss the information you find with your health care provider before you rely on it. You may have found good information, but your provider can tell you whether it's good for you.

The internet makes finding health information easy and fast. Much of the information on the internet is valuable; however, the internet also allows rapid and widespread distribution of false and misleading information. You should carefully consider the source of information you find on the internet and discuss that information with your healthcare provider. This fact sheet can help you decide whether the health information you find on the internet or receive by email, text, or social media is likely to be reliable.

Web resource on African American Health, sponsored by the National Library of Medicine, is designed to increase public awareness of the health concerns of African Americans.

A site entirely in Spanish that is devoted to health information.

Resource on Asian-American Health, sponsored by the National Library of Medicine, is designed to increase public awareness of the health concerns of Asian-Americans.

Information provided on this site is geared towards Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, enabling this group to attain the highest possible level of health and well-being.

The Center's mission is to build a healthy community through culturally and linguistically competent preventive health, disease management, and research programs. (Information displayed in simplified and traditional Chinese and English languages.)

A new initiative that promotes language and cultural competence to improve the quality of health care for minority, immigrant, and ethnically diverse communities.

EthnoMed is an ethnic medicine website containing medical and cultural information about immigrant and refugee groups. Information is specific to groups in the Seattle are, but much of the cultural and health information is of interest and applicable in other geographic areas.

Resources for food and nutrition materials written in several non-English languages from the NAL Food and Nutrition Information Center.

Provides education resources in multiple languages for healthcare professionals and others to use in their communities. Resources are easy to read and culturally appropriate.

Resource on Hispanic American Health, sponsored by the National Library of Medicine, is designed to increase public awareness of the health concerns of Hispanic Americans.

Maintained by the NIH. Information about treatment and clinical trials of HIV/AIDS.

The CMS Office of Minority Health works to ensure that people with disabilities receive equal access to quality health care information and services. Use this page to find tools and resources that can help you improve services and help patients understand their rights.

Health information in many languages, and links to refugee and cross-cultural resource organizations for providers and clients.

Spanish language version of the health-oriented NIH MedlinePlus Magazine.

Neurological and stroke information in Spanish.

Looking for a new doctor? AMA's Doctorfinder provides you with basic professional information on physicians in the United States. AMA member physicians have expanded listings with office hours, insurance, and contact information provided.

Want to prevent your dog from biting someone or want to teach your child how to avoid a dog bite? Looking for tips to keep your workplace hazard-free? Find all this and more at Center for Disease Control, as well as information on a variety of health and safety topics, such as environmental issues, travel, and workplace safety.

Find a variety of medical journals here including New England Journal of Medicine, Pediatrics, and the Journal of the American Medical Association. Maintained by Amedeo.com, a free medical literature guide.

Provides background information on the Human Genome project, as well as current research updates. From the National Human Genome Research Institute provided by the National Institutes of Health.

Explore information on health conditions, read healthy lifestyle newsletters, and navigate everyday challenges of managing a health condition by connecting with support groups.

Provides a variety of nutrition and healthy-living tips for parents, children, and teenagers. There is a page for each group where they can find information important to them. Maintained by Nemours, a pediatric health system in the U.S.

Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to clinical practice, education and research, providing expert, whole-person care to everyone who needs healing. Find quality information on:
* diseases and conditions
* tests and procedures
* drugs and supplements

Want to learn more about the circulation system? Have questions about the diagnosis of breast cancer? Medline is a great resource for finding background information on both minor and major health issues. Here you can learn more about prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and other related topics. Produced by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

This site provides information on different topics such as heart health, obesity, health check ups, and nutrition.

This FDA website provides information on prescription and over-the-counter medications, the safety and storage of medicines, current drug trials, drug and other consumer health recalls, and online pharmacy information.

DailyMed is a database of drug label/package insert information brought to you by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) using the most recent information submitted by manufacturers to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It includes a pill identifier tool.

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) Drug Information Portal gives users a gateway to information on nearly 93,000 drugs.

This MedlinePlus portal provides information on prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicines. It includes side effects, dosage, special precautions, and more. Browse dietary supplements and herbal remedies to learn about their effectiveness, usual dosage, and drug interactions.

Herbs at a Glance is a series of brief fact sheets that provides basic information about specific herbs or botanicals—common names, what the science says, potential side effects and cautions, and resources for more information.

Drug information in everyday language. Includes adverse drug reactions and factors affecting response to drugs. The Merck Manual is the world's best-selling medical textbook.