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.

The National Library of Medicine has released the NLM Drug Information Portal. The site is at http://druginfo.nlm.nih.gov. The NLM Drug Information Portal gives the public, healthcare professionals, and researchers a gateway to current, accurate and understandable drug information from the National Library of Medicine and other key government agencies.

More than 12,000 drug records are available for searching. The search interface is straightforward, requiring only a drug name as a search term, and successful searching is enhanced by the assistance of a spellchecker. Information buttons and balloon pop-ups guide the user by providing helpful hints or a description of the resource and links to the source website.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/whatsnew.html

February is Low Vision Month

Take the low vision quiz at http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/lowvision/lowvision_quiz.asp

Review the eye disease simulations from the National Eye Institute at http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/examples/index.asp

Check out the low vision tutorial from NIHSeniorHealth at http://nihseniorhealth.gov/lowvision/toc.html

Browse the MedlinePlus Vision Impairment and Blindness topic page at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/visionimpairmentandblindness.html. On the topic page you will also find a series of links to useful information, to care providers and to the Institute primarily responsible for research on vision impairment and blindness.

Related Topics

• Cataract
• Diabetic Eye Problems
• Eye Diseases
• Eye Injuries
• Glaucoma
• Macular Degeneration
• Retinal Disorders
• Eyes and Vision

Listen to the NLM Director’s Comments on Ethnicity and Pain Relievers. The transcript is also available. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/podcast/transcript021408.html

Emergency room patients, who are white, receive more pain relievers than other Americans, finds a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers primarily based at the University of California-San Francisco found all emergency room patients received significantly more pain relievers nationwide during a 13 year period.

MedlinePlus contains two health topic pages that provide insights on both pain management and the problems associated with prescription and non-prescription narcotic drugs. MedlinePlus’ pain health topic page contains a good overview of pain management while MedlinePlus’ drug abuse health topic page drug abuse health topic page adds information on the serious side effects from narcotic prescription and illegal street drugs.

Visit www.pandemicflu.gov for one-stop access to U.S. Government avian and pandemic flu information, including health care planning resources and guidelines.

Where do you live

Selecting this map will take you to a page with links to state pandemic planning information, state pandemic Web site information, and local state contacts.

State & Local Planning & Response Activities:
Alabama: http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/states/alabama.html
Florida: http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/states/florida.html
Georgia: http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/states/georgia.html
Maryland: http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/states/maryland.html
Mississippi: http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/states/mississippi.html
North Carolina: http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/states/northcarolina.html
Puerto Rico: http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/states/puertorico.html
South Carolina: http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/states/scarolina.html
Tennessee: http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/states/tennessee.html
Virgin Islands: http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/states/vislands.html
Virginia: http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/states/virginia.html
Washington, D. C.: http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/states/dc.html
West Virginia: http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/states/wvirginia.html

The February 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:

Preventing Cancer Learn How to Lower Your Risk
If you think there’s nothing you can do to prevent cancer, you’d be wrong. Learn about the steps you can take to reduce your cancer risk.

Soothing the Sting of Shingles - When a Childhood Virus Comes Back to Bite You

Even when chickenpox is gone, the virus that causes it stays with you for life, hidden and inactive in your nerve cells. As you get older, the virus may make a second, unwelcome appearance and cause a painful disease called shingles.

Health Capsules:

• Brain Injuries and PTSD Risk
• Sealing Out Tooth Decay
• Featured Web Site: My Family Health Portrait

You can also click here to download a PDF version for printing.
Subscribe, unsubscribe or change your options for this LISTSERV at any time by going to https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=nihnewsinhealth-l&A=1.

Please pass the word on to your colleagues about The NIH News in Health. The National Institutes of Health will send a limited number of print copies free of charge for display in offices, libraries or clinics. Just contact NIH for more information. E-mail: weinh@od.nih.gov