The NN/LM SCR pleased to announce staff changes.

Karen Vargas, who has served as the Consumer Health Outreach Coordinator since 2003, has taken on a new position as the NN/LM SCR Outreach and Evaluation Coordinator. In this role, she is responsible for outreach activities focusing on community colleges and allied health schools; evaluation and needs assessment efforts in the Region and document delivery activities (including DOCLINE). She will continue her role as the Oklahoma State Liaison.

Cheryl Rowan, who has served as the Public Health Coordinator since 2009, will now serve as the Consumer Health Coordinator. In this role, she is responsible for outreach activities to public libraries and consumers. She will continue her role as the Texas State Liaison.

World AIDS Day on 1 December brings together people from around the world to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and demonstrate international solidarity in the face of the pandemic. The day is an opportunity for public and private partners to spread awareness about the status of the pandemic and encourage progress in HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care in high prevalence countries and around the world. The 2012 theme is: “Working Together for an AIDS-free Generation.”

In commemoration of World AIDS Day, a new Vital Signs report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) looks at the alarming impact of HIV on youth (ages 13-24) and underscores the importance of HIV prevention, testing and treatment for youth. Read the report: HIV Among Youth in the US.

AIDSinfo joins people and organizations worldwide in observing World AIDS Day. The AIDSinfo and infoSIDA (Spanish version) Web sites (as services of the US Department of Health and Human Services and managed by the National Library of Medicine) offer federally-approved information on HIV research and treatment, including medical practice guidelines and treatment and prevention research studies, to health care providers, researchers, people affected by HIV/AIDS, and the general public.

Looking for more ways take action around World AIDS Day? Here are a few simple, powerful, and engaging ways:

• Join the Facing AIDS Initiative: http://facing.aids.gov/
• Locate HIV Testing and Other HIV Services: http://aids.gov/locator/
• Posters and Tools: http://1.usa.gov/eibPZG
• Tweet Official hashtag #WAD2012

This coming week, many families across the county will gather to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. While family traditions often center around traditional turkey dinners and watching football games, consider starting a new tradition to collect and document your family’s health history. The U.S. Surgeon General has declared Thanksgiving to be National Family History Day, encouraging Americans to share a meal and their family health history. This information can help your doctor decide which tests and screenings are recommended to help you know your health risks. Because family members share genes, behaviors, lifestyles, and environments, they may share a common risk for developing certain health problems. Family history can be especially valuable in helping a doctor make diagnosis if a child shows signs of a particular disease or disorder.

The updated Surgeon General’s My Family Health Portrait tool (available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian) can help you and your family to collect and organize family health history information and allows you to share this information easily with your doctor. The most important relatives to discuss family health with are parents, brothers and sisters, and children. Then, if possible, talk to grandparents, uncles and aunts, nieces and nephews, and step-brothers and step-sisters.

More information on collecting family health history is available from the CDC at: http://www.cdc.gov/genomics/famhistory/sharehistory.htm and http://www.cdc.gov/Features/FamilyHistory/index.html.

MedlinePlus and NIHSeniorHealth also have Topic Pages on Family Health History: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/familyhistory.html and http://nihseniorhealth.gov/creatingafamilyhealthhistory/whycreateafamilyhealthhistory/01.html.

The National Library of Medicine database Genetics Home Reference has lots of information on genetic conditions and the genes or chromosomes which are linked to these conditions.

Take some time during the upcoming holidays to get to know your Family Health History better–for the health of it!

The NN/LM SCR celebrates Banned Books Week http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/ with a display of medically themed banned books. Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read.  By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship.

Some of the books included in the display are:

• My Mom’s Having a Baby, by Dori Hillestad Butler
• What’s Happening to My Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-up Guide for Parents & Sons, by Lynda Madaras and Dane Saavedra
• Writers’ Voice: Selected from Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir, by Paul Monette
• Deal with It! A Whole New Approach to Your Body, Brain, and Life as a gURL, by Esther Drill
• Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous
• It’s Perfectly Normal: A Book about Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health, by Robie H. Harris
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey
• Are You There, God?  It’s Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume

These books are part of the Harris County Public Library collection in The Texas Medical Center Library.

The National Library of Medicine is pleased to announce the release of a new educational resource, GeneEd http://geneed.nlm.nih.gov/. Developed in collaboration with the National Human Genome Institute (NHGRI), teachers and experts in genetics and genetic counseling, GeneEd is a useful resource for students and teachers in grades 9 – 12 to learn genetics. GeneEd allows students and teachers to explore topics such as Cell Biology, DNA, Genes, Chromosomes, Heredity/Inheritance Patterns, Epigenetics/Inheritance and the Environment, Genetic Conditions, Evolution, Biostatistics, Biotechnology, DNA Forensics, and Top Issues in Genetics.

GeneEd is a portal that teachers can use to introduce topics, supplement existing materials, and provide as a reliable source to students conducting research. The site links to categories such as research articles, animation, games, videos, interactive tutorials, and labs and experiments. 3D images, illustrations and text from NHRGI help to enrich the user experience by providing vivid imagery to reinforce genetic concepts.

Specialty pages including Teacher Resources and Labs and Experiments highlight those tools that teachers may find particularly helpful.  Other specialty pages such as Careers in Genetics and Highlights allow students to see what is new and noteworthy in the field of Genetics along with links to different careers related to the science of Genetics.

This year’s West Nile virus outbreak is on track to be the biggest ever since the virus first appeared in the United States in 1999, U.S. health officials reported Wednesday.

As of the third week of August, there have been a total of 1,118 cases of West Nile virus in people in 38 states, including 41 deaths.

In Texas, which has been hardest hit by the epidemic, 586 cases have been reported with 21 deaths, said Dr. David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services. Officials in Dallas County, Texas, began aerial spraying of insecticides overnight last Thursday. Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma have also been hit hard by West Nile virus this summer.

Experts do not know why this year’s outbreak is so much worse than previous years, but suspect it could be a confluence of factors, most notably hot weather. Generally speaking, 80 percent of people who are infected with West Nile virus develop no or few symptoms, while 20 percent develop mild symptoms such as headache, joint pain, fever, skin rash and swollen lymph glands. Less than 1 percent will develop neurological illnesses, such as encephalitis or meningitis, and develop paralysis or cognitive difficulties that can last for years, if not for life.

There are no specific treatments for West Nile virus; the greatest risk for infection with West Nile virus typically occurs from June through September, with cases peaking in mid-August.

The best way to protect yourself from West Nile virus is to avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes, which can pick up the disease from infected birds. The CDC recommends the following steps to protect yourself:

• Use insect repellents when outside.
• Wear long sleeves and pants from dawn to dusk.
• Don’t leave standing water outside in open containers, such as flowerpots, buckets and kiddie pools.
• Install or repair windows and door screens.
• Use air conditioning when possible.

More information at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_128510.html

See also MedlinePlus Health Topic page on West Nile Virus: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/westnilevirus.html and CDC on West Nile Virus and Protecting Mosquito Bites: http://www.cdc.gov/features/StopMosquitoes/ .

[HealthDay News, August 22, 2012]

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has published the July 2012 edition of the NIH News in Health. Information in this issue includes:

• Adopting a vegetarian diet
• Health effects of massage therapy
• Impact of NIH Research

Join us Wednesday, June 20, 2012 from 10:30 – 11:30 am (CT) for the NN/LM SCR’s monthly webinar, SCR CONNECTions.

This month’s topic will be “NLM Updates from MLA.” Select highlights from the recent Medical Library Association (MLA) annual  meeting will be covered including recent changes to PubMed, NIHSeniorHealth, DOCLINE, and more. MLA CE will be available for the June SCR CONNECTions.

Webinars are conducted via the Adobe Connect web meeting system. Join the webinar using the following URL: https://webmeeting.nih.gov/scr/.  Once you enter the online meeting room, follow the instructions on the screen to have the system call you on your telephone.

Test your connection before joining with Adobe using the following URL: https://admin.acrobat.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm.

This webinar is available for 1 hour of Medical Library Association Continuing Education credit. If you cannot attend the live webinar, it will be recorded and archived for viewing at a later date.

The NN/LM SCR is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2012-2013 Electronic Consumer Health Outreach Award.  The goal of this award is to ensure that health professionals, their patients and the general public are connected to the health information resources they need to make informed health care decisions.

Recipient: Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center – Shreveport, Shreveport, LA
Project: The YMCA of Northwest Louisiana Project
Description: Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-Shreveport will partner with the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana to provide computer equipment that YMCA members and staff can use to find online health information at three fitness center locations. The Library will offer training sessions on NLM resources and will develop educational materials to publicize the public training sessions and NLM resources.

Recipient: Texas AHEC East – Greater Houston Region, Bellaire, TX
Project: CLICKS to Sip-n-Surf
Description: The Texas AHEC East – Greater Houston Region will offer a tested program of customized computer literacy classes at two senior centers. The seniors will receive 36 3-hour long coaching sessions on the computer, Internet, MedlinePlus and NIHSeniorHealth. In addition, they will create the first Internet café in Houston that is designed for underserved seniors.

The NN/LM SCR is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2012-2013 Health Information Literacy Award.

Institution: Crossroads Pharmacy, Mesquite, TX

Project Title: Improving Health Information Literacy in Seniors Using Internet Resources

Description:  This project will be a pilot study assessing the effectiveness of computer training on the MedlinePlus and NIHSeniorHealth databases among seniors in the Southeast Dallas area. The project will utilize two groups: the study group and the control group. The study group will participate in the educational program, while the control group will receive the standard pharmacy prescription drug information handout. An after-training assessment will measure the effectiveness of the training on health literacy.

Congratulations!