The April issue of NIH News in Health, the monthly newsletter bringing you practical health news and tips based on the latest NIH research, is now online at http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/. In this issue of NIH News in Health: http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/pdf/NIHNiH%20April08.pdf

When a Medical Emergency Strikes

A Race Against the Clock

If you’re seriously injured, your recovery-and even your life-can depend on how quickly the emergency medical team arrives, what type of treatment you get and how fast they get you to a hospital.

Guard Your Liver: Protect Yourself From Hepatitis Hepatitis can make you feel as if you have the flu, but it’s a completely different disease. Flu is caused by viruses that attack your lungs and respiratory system; hepatitis is a liver disease. Some forms of hepatitis get better on their own. But others can inflict serious liver damage, and may even leave you needing a new liver.

Health Capsules:

• Allergens in Homes Linked to Asthma
• Diet and Metabolic Syndrome
• Featured Web Site: Anabolic Steroid Abuse

The new Health Care Notification Network system was created by Medem of San Francisco, California. It is supported by a group of pharmaceuticals, insurance firms, organizations, and medical centers, such as Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, J and J, as well as the American College of Surgeons, among others (full list at http://www.hcnn.net/docs/HCNNSupporters.pdf). The network will be using email to quickly disseminate time sensitive drug safety alert information to health care professionals.

• HCNN replaces the current, paper-based alerts sent to physicians and other healthcare providers via U.S. mail.
• Alerts include medication recalls, warnings and national public health emergencies.
• HCNN fulfills new FDA guidance for electronic communication of patient safety notification and is supported by medical liability carriers, U.S. medical societies, national patient advocacy groups, health plans and many other national healthcare organizations that are dedicated to improved patient safety.
• HCNN protects healthcare provider privacy. No email addresses will be sold or disclosed to any third parties.

Registration for U.S. physicians and other health care providers is available immediately at http://www.hcnn.net. For more information about the HCNN and online patient safety Alert services, see http://www.hcnn.net.

April is Donate Life Month. Visit the MedlinePlus organ donation topic page to learn more. The following four sites exemplify the breadth and specificity of links to organ donation materials for consumers.

• What Every Patient Needs to Know from the United Network for Organ Sharing http://www.unos.org/SharedContentDocuments/Patient_Booklet(1).pdf
• Organ Donation 101 [and Ethnic Minorities] from the U. S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health http://www.omhrc.gov/templates/content.aspx?ID=3123
• Bone Marrow Donation: What to Expect When You Donate from the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/bone-marrow/CA00047/METHOD=print
• Organ Donation and Transplantation from the Dept. of Health and Human Services’ National Women’s Health Information Center http://womenshealth.gov/faq/organ_donation.htm

National LGBT Health Awareness Week is a way for health librarians and health care organizations to promote lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) health in their communities.

The theme of the 2008 National LGBT Health Awareness Week is Take Action. This is a call to Take Action in improving the health of the LGBT community. Fuller information, resources, contacts and sponsors can be found at National Coalition for LGBT Health site: http://www.lgbthealth.net/awarenessweek08/. There is also LGBT health and wellness information within MedlinePlus, at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/gaylesbianandtransgenderhealth.html. Go Local has offerings as well. Note those in North Carolina, at http://www.nchealthinfo.org/resources.cfm?info=0,247,102,0,0.

http://newsroom.hrsa.gov/releases/2008/poisonhelp.htm

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has announced a new poison prevention campaign. The Poison Help Campaign addresses the alarming statistics on poisonings in the United States. This past year, more than 2.4 million poison exposures were reported to the nation’s network of Poison Control Centers (PCCs). Unintentional poisoning deaths are the second leading cause of injury death for U.S. adults.

The campaign features a new Web site, http://PoisonHelp.hrsa.gov, with downloadable resources to inform and educate the public on poison prevention, and the national Poison Help toll-free number (1-800-222-1222) that callers can use to reach a PCC. The Campaign also serves as a resource for health professionals, PCC staff, and injury prevention organizations.

Consider subscribing to the Poison Control Program Update, a quarterly newsletter describing current and upcoming program activities and highlights new poison prevention resources. http://poisonhelp.hrsa.gov/news_winter08.htm

To receive future newsletters via e-mail, contact HRSA at comments@hrsa.gov.

http://www.omhrc.gov/templates/browse.aspx?lvl=3&lvlID=297

The Office of Minority Health has chosen A Healthy Baby Begins with You as the theme for its work during National Minority Health Month in April, and calls on state and local governments and offices of minority health to organize events and put forth proclamations to bring due attention to this issue. See more about this event at: http://www.omhrc.gov/templates/browse.aspx?lvl=2&lvlID=182

OMH invites communities to host A Healthy Baby Begins with You events during the month and throughout the year, and will list events to be held on its web site, www.omhrc.gov. The web site also has materials to help communities organize their events.

“This campaign is part of a broader National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities that OMH has introduced to combat health disparities in all communities,” said Dr. Graham. “We are pleased to work with all of our partners to help bring an end to preventable infant deaths.”

The campaign’s brochure, including tips for a healthy start for mothers and babies, is available for download at http://www.omhrc.gov/Assets/pdf/checked/brochure.pdf. An assortment of campaign posters available include:

Main Campaign Poster PDF - 29.4 mb)
Tonya Campain Poster (PDF - 4 mb)
Campaign Folder (Poster - 6.5 mb)
Campaign Quick Card (PDF - 6.5 mb)

Additionally, the OMH also has developed a new section on its website: the Capacity Building Division webpage. Here you will find samples of their work along with interactive training and educational materials to assist your organization in growth. http://www.omhrc.gov/templates/browse.aspx?lvl=2&lvlID=66

http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/pillcard/pillcard.htm

The Agency for Health Research and Quality has just released free, online instructions for creating a pill card using only a personal or lap top computer and printer. A pill card can serve as a visual aid for confirming that patients understand how to take the medicines properly and as a reminder to take medicines. AHRQ’s How to Create a Pill Card provides step-by-step instructions for making a pill card. One in four Americans do not take prescription medicines as prescribed. Many people who fail to adhere to medication instructions do so because they do not understand how to take their medicines. Research has shown that using a pill card-which uses pictures and simple phrases to show each medicine, its purpose, how much to take, and when to take it-reduces misunderstandings.

New Spanish Ad Campaign Features “Superhéroes” Theme

Created pro bono for the Ad Council by the advertising agency Casanova Pendrill, the public service advertising campaign includes new television, radio, print and Web advertising featuring the theme, “Superhéroes.” The focus of the campaign was developed from insights gained in the Ad Council’s focus group research, which found that most Hispanic adults do not visit their doctor regularly and only go when they experience symptoms of illness. The lighthearted ads encourage Hispanics to be heroes for their families by getting the preventive health care they need.

The campaign encourages Hispanic adults to visit a comprehensive Web site, www.ahrq.gov/superheroes. The site provides tips on ways to stay healthy and talking with your doctor, recommendations on preventive testing, help in understanding prescriptions, a quiz and glossary of medical terms as well as links to other resources that provide health information.

For the detailed press release, visit http://www.ahrq.gov/news/press/pr2008/superheropr.htm

A new Web resource providing scientists and consumers with the latest information on significant topics in women’s health research from scientific journals and other peer-reviewed sources is now available through the National Library of Medicine (NLM). The NLM Division of Specialized Information Services, Office of Outreach and Special Populations has partnered with the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) to create this one-stop resource.The 2008 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Priorities for Women’s Health were used to identify overarching themes, specific health topics, and research initiatives in women’s health. Within each section of the Web site are topics with links to relevant and authoritative resources and research initiatives for women’s health.

Women’s Health Resources from the NLM Web site can be found at: http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/outreach/womenshealthoverview.html

Women’s Health Resources from the ORWH Web site can be found at: http://orwh.od.nih.gov/nat_lib_med.html

Barb Garner has been the editor of Focus on Basics for its entire 11 years. She has turned out over 30 issues, filled with useful, timely and practical articles that bring adult literacy and learning research into the practical arena. Focus on Basics’ materials are available on the Internet and two more issues of Focus on Basics are in the works. The first is on numeracy, and should be available in May, 2008. The second is on literacy and health, and should be available in October, 2008.

All issues of Focus on Basics are archieved on the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) web site at http://www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=15. Click on Focus on Basics on the right side of the home page and you will be linked to the Focus on Basics page. All the issues are listed to the left, by theme and in the body of the site by volume; or, click on the subject index to the right to bring up a list of topics. Click on the topic that concerns you and you will find links not only to the Focus on Basics articles that address the topic, plus other NCSALL publications on the topic.