Free Samples: Preface

The number of Internet users has reached an all-time high -- and grows larger every year. Both the number of searchers seeking health care information and the amount of information on the Web constantly increase. Consumers search for different types of health information in different ways. Studies show that women are more likely to search for information about their children's health and are more likely to worry about the reliability of information. Men are more likely to use the health information from the Web to ask follow-up questions of their physicians, to bookmark Web sites, and to search for sensitive health information. Teenagers search the Web for health information on topics such as weight issues, mental health, drugs and alcohol, and violence. Librarians and other professionals who assist and direct searchers of health information on the Web are often asked to tackle the sometimes painful, often personal, and always very important questions of their clients. Just as all patrons want to find the best information available on the Web as quickly as possible, all librarians want to find the best answers for their clients.

Health Information on the Web

Challenges

• "Diseases and Disorders"
• "Mental Health and Mental Disorders"
• "Health and Wellness"
• "Life Stages and Reproduction"

Guide Organization

About Volume 1

Next "Search Strategies" progresses into a critical discussion of strategies and strategic searching that includes general tips, question types, and putting the pieces together. In particular:

• Strategic searching by question
• Strategic searching by term
• Strategic searching with search engines
• Limitations of search engines
• Choosing a search engine to match your questions
• Strategic talking: working with your health care team
• Complete step-by-step search procedure

This portion of the Guide contains general sources, tools, statistics, and standards. The "frequently asked questions" portion of this section gives ideas on how to find information on general health concerns -- drug information, laboratory results, medical procedures, terminology, and more. The final section of volume 1, "The Quick Reference Guide," includes seven handy and useful guides to finding health information on the Web. Three of them are likely to be used most frequently:

• "Selected Health and Medical Terms according to Concept," a comprehensive listing of more 2,000 terms divided into eight broad areas: health, disease, core medical, medical specialties, common imaging tests, common laboratory and diagnostic terms, and surgical and non-surgical terms.
• Forms for quick-starting the process or helping people walk through the strategic thought process with their own questions.
• The geographic, language, and location codes of over 220 countries and their related states and possessions.

About Volumes 2 and 3

Volume 3, Health and Wellness/Life Stages and Reproduction, shows how to use the strategic approach in a comprehensive series of real-life health situations. "Health and Wellness" includes more than 160 specific entries grouped under 11 general areas. The major groupings include wellness and lifestyle; safety; first aid; traffic accidents; multicultural health; alternative/complementary health sources; issues faced by the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered community; living with a chronic illness, living with a disability; pain and pain management; and hospice and end-of-life care. The second half of volume 2, "Life Stages and Reproduction," covers 114 specific entries grouped under 11 general areas. "Life Stages" examines newborns, children, adolescents, men, women, and seniors. "Reproduction" topics include birth defects, genetic diseases, pregnancy problems, prostate disorders, and sexual health issues.

Volume 3 also has the cumulative index for the entire MLA Encyclopedic Guide. The index will be particularly helpful when you are looking for a specific term and will direct you to the best places to begin your search. The page you are directed to will feature cross-references to more ideas or terms in other sections of the Guide. You will see that there are extensive "see references" to other pertinent material at the beginning of each separate entry.

Note: The Medical Library Encyclopedic Association Guide to Searching and Finding Health Information on the Web also features a companion Web site. An optional CD-ROM is also available.

The Arrangement of Volumes 2 and 3

The search strategies include the following subdivisions:

• "Special Searching Terms for This Topic"
  • "What to Ask"
  • "Where to Start"
• "Topic Profile" with four sections:
  • "Who," Who is at risk?
  • "What," What are the effects?
  • "Where," Where in the body will the effects be seen?
  • "When," When in life does it usually occur?
• "Abbreviations Used in This Section"

More than 600 "Procedures and Special Topics" sections feature recommended search terms and important sites. The recommended terms comprise a wide, authoritative vocabulary of medical terms and expressions producing comprehensive search results. "Important sites" are the dependable, respected sites that a researcher could consult directly or employ as part of an individualized search strategy.

The following list terms or important, helpful sites:

• "Hotlines"
• "FAQs"
• "Publications on the Internet"
• "Medical Specialty"
• "Professional Organizations"
• "Patient Support Organizations"
• "Best One-Stop Shops"

Methodology

• statistics from the United States government for top-reported causes of death for all major populations reported;
• statistics from the United States government for top-reported causes of disability for all major populations reported;
• top-reported chronic, acute, and infectious disorders;
• FAQs reported by major health search engines and health information services.

This last category incorporated reported questions from healthfinder, HealthWeb, MedlinePlus, NetWellness, NOAH, and the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Using this methodology virtually ensured that all of the topics represented are common health issues and concerns.

Although we certainly tried to offer a broad range of subjects, The MLA Encyclopedic Guide could not be a comprehensive encyclopedia of every piece of health information on the Web. The first volume is a guide to searching, and the actual strategies and searches in the latter two volumes can be adapted to any health question. Also, although the diseases and special topics are common health issues and concerns, there is a section of searching rare diseases with samples that can be used to find information on any type of condition that is less common in the population as a whole.

A Word about the Authors

Become an Expert Searcher

The Medical Library Association Encyclopedic Guide to Searching and Finding Health Information on the Web is dedicated to the idea that there is a wealth of helpful and life-saving health information available on the Internet -- if you know the best way to find it. Too often seekers of this information -- whether individual researchers or trained librarians -- have only had the choice of consulting prepackaged information or searching without pointers from trained professionals in the field. Our guide has attempted to provide a comprehensive and cutting-edge assortment of information along with the best overall strategies to search. It is designed to bring together the best of health care information and the best of the Internet and -- importantly -- the best research methods. Health concerns demand nothing less.