When working the reference desk you are bound to get a medical question that will leave you scratching your head. Whether it is a disease you have never heard of before (and can’t pronounce) or a medical overshare. When moments like these occur it is important to have a number of go-to consumer health resources in your arsenal. Below are some great free resources that cover everything from Aspergillosis to Zoonoses.
American Cancer Association
The American Cancer Association presents a comprehensive look at different types of cancer, along with the treatment and support options available. If you don’t find what you need here, check out the National Cancer Institute website.
County Health Ratings
This site shows health information on a specific counties. This can be great for a library to see what health concerns are most prominent in their county. It also provides a list of Ohio specific “Community Health Improvement Resources”.
Food and Drug Administration
Finds information on recalls, safety alerts, and specific drugs.
Health Finder
Although it is less comprehensive than Medline, its easy to use interface is great for those with a lower literacy level. Much of the information on the site is also available in Spanish.
HealthReach
Healthreach provides multilingual health resources including audio and video. It also contains disaster relief information.
Household Products Database
Provides information on over 16,000 consumer brands’ chemical ingredients. This website can be useful for narrowing down which products contain a specific chemical. It also will tell you information on effects of chemical ingredients and pulls information from the National Library of Medicine toxicology related-databases.
Lab Tests Online
This website helps patients and caregivers understand the often confusing lab tests and lab test results.
Long Term Care Consumer Guide
Offers access to a searchable directory of different long term care facilities in Ohio. Information on the quality, cost, special care factors, and a number of other facility specifics is provided.
Medline Plus
This resource is already familiar to many librarians and for good reason. If you are only going to remember one resource, this is the one! Features include:
- An “Easy to Read” information section
- A medical dictionary that covers word parts, what they mean, and common abbreviations
- A plethora of multilingual resources, including audio and video
- Video and animations with audio, including surgical videos
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
Has information on non-mainstream medical approaches such as herbs, homeopathy, and massage.
National Network of Libraries of Medicine Resources for Public Libraries
From the National Network of Libraries of Medicine this resource is specifically for public libraries and includes information on consumer health funding opportunities training, and resources.
The Ohio State University Library for Health Information
The Ohio State University Library for Health Information is a PUBLIC consumer health library so they will answer questions for anyone, not just their patients. They will also compile packets of information for people and send them out via mail for no cost. Since they have access to more medical specific databases than the average library, this is a good resource to refer patrons to that might need more in depth help.
This is not a comprehensive list so let us know of some of your favorite consumer health resources!
Catie Polack
OLC - RISD 