MA: How do you define NLP?

EL: NLP consists of a range of computational techniques for analyzing and representing naturally occurring texts at one or more levels of linguistic analysis for the purpose of achieving human-like language processing for a range of particular tasks or applications. We use NLP in our information access system to extract individual entities, events, and relations between and amongst entities and events to build a content representation that can be utilized in a range of access technologies. Our approach to building these content representations is to first process text to find the individual generic extractions (entities and relations) and then to use further clues in the text to add additional semantic information to the ‘collection’ of extractions (events) specific to the domain or genre. The main task in this project has been the adaptation of the NLP technology to the model learned from the sample PHI documents and the input from the PH professionals.

MA: What progress have you made and what are your next steps?

EL: The technical work is complete to the stage where we can now conduct an online experiment with PH professionals who will review PH reports and the automatic extractions based on the model and inform us of whether such a summary would be useful to them, as well as what changes need to be made in the summary presentation of the extracted elements.

MA: Where would you recommend PH/HA News readers get more information about your project?

EL: This project is a collaboration among Elizabeth D. Liddy, PhD. (Center for Natural Language Processing, School of Information Studies at Syracuse University), Jana Bradley, PhD, (School of Information Studies at Syracuse University), and Anne M. Turner, M.D. (Oregon Health Sciences University). Further information can be found by contacting any of them or at http://www.cnlp.org/research/project.asp?recid=18

Column Editor’s Note: The CNLP website also includes a lot of background information on Natural Language Processing.

Arizona Turning Point Project
http://www.aztpp.com/

The mission of the national Turning Point Project (http://www.turningpointprogram.org/) is to transform and strengthen the public health infrastructure in the United States so that states, local communities, and their public health agencies may respond to the challenge to protect and improve the public’s health in the 21st century. Arizona is one of twenty-two states awarded funding to implement this project and the only state to include a library component in its project.

The Arizona Turning Point Project has defined its mission as building community leadership through training and information dissemination and to establish centers for public health in public libraries, public health departments and tribal service centers. The Public Health Information Committee of the Arizona Project is currently developing a website in collaboration with the Arizona Health Sciences Library, and is working on establishing public health centers in libraries, health departments, and tribal services centers in addition to providing training for libraries, both public and tribal, and for public health officials. The official kick-off for the project was a mini-symposium held May 23rd at the Arizona School of the Health Sciences in Mesa, AZ. For additional information about the project or mini-symposium, contact: Catherine Riley at 602-506-1248 or CatharineRiley@mail.maricopa.gov

ASPH Bioterrorism Activities

The Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) jointly collaborates with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and schools of public health on a number of bioterrorism-related initiatives, including: the Academic Centers for Public Health Preparedness (A-CPHP) network, Pre-event Message Development, and the Executive Training Institutes.

Academic Centers for Public Health Preparedness Located within schools of public health, the national network of 19 Academic Centers for Public Health Preparedness (A-CPHP) is a nationwide workforce development initiative designed to ensure front line public health and health care workers are prepared to respond to any biological, chemical, radiological or nuclear threats or emergencies and infectious disease outbreaks.

ASPH works in close partnership with state and local public health agencies to:

• Support state and local public health agencies in achieving preparedness by assessing their needs and providing technical assistance;
• Develop and deliver competency-based training in bioterrorism preparedness;
• Ensure best practices;
• Evaluate trainings thereby ensuring cost-effectiveness and minimizing duplication;
• Expand access to training for public health professionals across the nation; and,
• Evaluate the success of these tailored trainings in meeting national goals for preparedness.

A-CPHP trainings emphasize integration of activities within the network to build a national training system that provides a continuum of accessible learning opportunities including distance learning products, drill training, certification programs, grand round series, fellowships, internships and more.

ASPH works with CDC to provide project direction and facilitates communication among the network by collecting and disseminating information via the Public Health Preparedness Resource Center (www.asph.org/phprc), a free online catalog of courses and training activities, tools and education programs.

Pre-event Message Development
Schools of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of Oklahoma, Saint Louis University and University of California at Los Angeles make up the Pre-event Message Development team. These schools work with ASPH and CDC’s Office of Communication to develop audience-tested messages for use before and during bioterrorism events and other emergencies. The messages are tailored for different events and audiences. In addition to being tested with various audiences, the messages have been reviewed by mental health experts and are designed to minimize fear, stress and distress of focus group participants. Also, mental health counselors and resources will be made available to participants after each focus group. Findings from the focus groups will be analyzed and the results will be sent to CDC for use in their communications materials.

Executive Training Institute
Schools of Public Health at the University of Michigan, University of South Carolina and University of Washington are working with ASPH and CDC on the Executive Training Institute for Public Health Preparedness (ETI) team. The unique contribution of the ETIs to this effort is the provision of emergency preparedness training tailored to designated state health leaders and directors of homeland security. This training is designed to maximize their ability to lead the implementation of their state or territory’s preparedness plan, including all focus areas of their CDC cooperative agreements. The ETI’s mission is to enhance the capacity of all states and territories to protect the health of the American public by achieving and maintaining a high state of readiness to respond to biological, chemical and other terrorist threats or attacks.

HRSA Public Health Training Centers
In addition to ASPH’s collaboration with the CDC, ASPH also works with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) on the Public Health Training Centers (PHTC). The HRSA-funded PHTCs are partnerships between accredited schools of public health and related academic institutions and public health agencies and organizations. The PHTC Program is designed to improve the Nation’s public health system by strengthening the technical, scientific, managerial and leadership skills and abilities of current and future public health professionals. Public Health Training Centers assess the learning needs of the public health workforce and provide training to meet those needs. Currently, 42 states and the District of Columbia are covered by PHTC activity.

For more information about any of the programs described above, please contact the Association of Schools of Public Health at 202-296-1099 or info@asph.org. Visit ASPH on the web at www.asph.org

CDCynergy Training Opportunities Currently Available through SOPHE

The Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) and its chapters are the official sponsors of CDCynergy, an innovative multimedia-based health communication-planning tool, available via CD-ROM. Developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this tool is intended to systematically train professionals in designing health interventions within a public health framework. The CDCynergy curriculum includes a step-by-step process for creating a health communication plan, examples of real public health interventions, a glossary of health communication terminology, and extensive resources useful for developing and evaluating health communication plans.

The CDCynergy workshop facilitates navigation and optimum use of the many resources this tool has to offer. The training is highly interactive and presented in a multi-media format that is both educational and engaging. Trainings are available year-round, throughout the country by SOPHE’s national network of trained CDCynergy specialists with expertise in social marketing and health education. Unlock the potential of CDCynergy for your program by scheduling a training in your area. To find out more information please visit www.sophe.org or contact Kristin Unzicker at kunzicker@sophe.org or (202) 408-9804.

*The Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) and its chapters are the official workshop sponsors. Founded in 1950, SOPHE is a non-profit professional organization dedicated to improving the health of all people through education.

E-Streams: Free Online Reviews
http://www.e-streams.com/

E-Streams is a free, electronic collaborative reviewing venture between H. Robert Malinowsky, University of Chicago (hrm@uic.edu) and YBP Library Services which publishes it. Each issue contains more than 30 reviews covering engineering, science, technology, medicine, and agriculture. The reviews feature tables of contents, a list of contributors and bibligraphic information; reviews are signed and include the email address of the reviewer. Contact Bob at his e-mail address (noted above and also on the website) to inquire about becoming a reviewer. It can be a good way to get public health related titles to add to your collection. Sample reviews in public health include:

• E-STREAMS Vol. 6, No. 4 - April 2003, 2429 Molecular Infection Biology: Interactions Between Microorganisms and Cells
• E-STREAMS, Vol. 6, No. 2 - February 2003, 2284 Using the Agricultural, Environmental, and Food Literature
• E-STREAMS, Vol. 6, No. 1 - January 2003, 2261 Essential Epidemiology: Principles and Applications

MLA Continuing Education Opportunities in Public Health

• 3080: TOXNET and Health: Public Health, Environmental Health, and Science & Health
• 3117: Adventures in Public Health (Public Health 101)
• 3134: Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise: Discovering the Abundance of Health Information in Government Resources
• 3302: The Public Health Knowledge Base
• 3359: Introduction to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Information Resources
• 3365: Finding and Using Health Statistics Results
• 3035: Toxicology and Environmental Health Information:Key Resources from the NLM and Other Web Sites
• 3076: Data Detective: Finding the Jewels of Public Health Datasets

The data sets course done by Hongjie Wang was excellent. He is still working on the online version of the course, but he shared with us the beginning of an online tutorial at http://library.uchc.edu/eduoff/healthdata/home/home.htm.

It seems to me that it is critical to communicate the emergence of public health datasets as an information type to our colleagues in a systematic focused way. They seem to me to be analogous to bioinformatics databases in that the information in question is "raw." Information in this form presents difficulties such as a proliferation of databases and database interfaces, and the difficulty in pointing to appropriate resources. The real problem for me, though, is the same problem that I have with the genomics resources: not being sure that I know enough about the field and the researchers' information needs to know how to support them. Moreover, Hongjie mentioned that in addition to public sources of datasets, private vendors will be/are providing them as well. Which means that we will need to make collection decisions. This would be a great subject for a future article, and maybe sessions, workshops, etc. [Ed note: There was some discussion of the collection development issues of the fee-based data provider "Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research" at the MLA presentation entitled "Providing access to data sets for public health professionals: service development, outreach, and use patterns."]

MidContinental Region Public Health MeSH Project Report
http://nnlm.gov/mcr/public_health/meshrpt.html

Note from Jacque-Lynne Schulman Senior Technical Information Specialist MeSH Section. The following 49 new 2003 MeSH descriptors are either directly in the area of Public Health or may be of high interest to those in this field:

E2 (Therapeutics) Behavior Control Mass Immunization F1 (Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms) Dissent and Disputes Duty to Recontact Harm Reduction Parental Notification Researcher-Subject Relations Risk Reduction Behavior Whistleblowing F2 (Psychological Phenomena and Processes) Comprehension Consensus Dissent and Disputes Intention G3 (Public Health) Anonymous Testing Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Mass Immunization Uncertainty

I2 (Education) Education, Public Health Professional J1 (Technology, Industry, and Agriculture) Commodification Social Marketing L1 (Information Science) Geographic Information Systems Public Health Informatics M1 (Persons) Health Educators Students, Public Health Vulnerable Populations N2 (Health Care Facilities, Manpower, and Services) Assisted Living Facilities Directed Tissue Donation Directive Counseling Healthy People Programs Mass Immunization Reproductive Health Services

N3 (Health Care Economics and Organizations) American Public Health Association Compensation and Redress Consent Forms Duty to Recontact Government Regulation Mandatory Programs Parental Consent Patient Access to Records N4 (Health Services Administration) Advance Care Planning Codes of Ethics Delegation, Professional Ethics Consultation Mandatory Programs Voluntary Programs N5 (Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation) After-Hours Care Anonymous Testing Consent Forms Ethics Consultation Ethics, Research

New Public Health Informatics Course at the University of Pittsburgh

The Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH) at the University of Pittsburgh has recently approved a new three credit course titled "Online Public Health: Informatics and Intervention." The course is the result of a collaboration between Ammon Ripple, Liaison Librarian to GSPH, Tony Silvestre, Associate Professor, and Michael Shankle, Research Specialist, both from the Department of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology at GSPH. Other librarians from the Health Sciences Library System will participate in the course instruction as well.

The course is designed to be a hands-on learning experience, with classes held in a computing lab classroom located in the Falk Library of the Health Sciences. Students will learn theory and practical skills which will help them attain selected informatics competencies, including:

• effectively retrieving and evaluating public health information, both from online literature databases and from Web resources;
• using EndNote to manage bibliographic citations;
• using PowerPoint and HTML to communicate health information online;
• collecting public health research data using the Internet;
• the theory, technical and design skills needed to create online public health interventions.

Nebraska Center for Bioterrorism Education has new librarian

Sue Raymond (sraymond@unmc.edu) is the new librarian for the Nebraska Center for Bioterrorism Education, physically located at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Sue's library consists of herself, a growing collection of web pages, articles, videos and frequent trips across the state of Nebraska to get the word out about the mission of the Library and the Center. The purpose of the Center is to be a central repository for all bioterrorism education in a web-based forum and to provide access to bioterrorism educational materials to Nebraska public health professionals, physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, veterinarians, law enforcement personnel, emergency departments, EMT personnel, and other interested groups. Sue, a graduate from University of Missouri Columbia and formerly, librarian at UNTHSC Medical Library in Forth Worth, welcomes your input concerning BT education sources, and invites you to visit Nebraska's site at www.necenterforbted.org.

Public Health Preparedness Resource Center - Association of Schools of Public Health

The issues of bioterrorism (BT), emergency preparedness and other public health threats and emergencies have created a tremendous demand for training opportunities. The schools of public health have responded to this demand by developing more than 250 learning opportunities to date. As part of its commitment to get these training programs out to those in need of the information and to maximize the use of resources, the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) created the Public Health Preparedness Resource Center. This virtual center is an electronic catalogue of courses and trainings, tools, education programs (e.g. degree and certificate programs), and public education materials (e.g. conferences, brochures, pamphlets, etc.) developed by ASPH member schools of public health.

The center includes products developed by specific entities within schools of public health, for example the CDC-funded Academic Centers for Public Health Preparedness (A-CPHP) and the HRSA-funded Public Health Training Centers (PHTC). It also includes materials and information about courses, conferences, etc. that are collaborative efforts with other governmental agencies, state and local health departments, and community organizations. The site is a work in progress, as ASPH staff work with deans’ offices and the principal investigators of relevant SPH projects to provide the most up-to-date information on the results of members’ works in preparedness. The Resource Center plans to offer a central location for students, Deans, faculty, public health workers and the general public to share course outlines and materials and to learn from one another. You can visit the Resource Center at: http://www.asph.org/phprc/.

Update from the National Library of Medicine

Health Information for Asian Americans and Native Hawaiians
http://asianamericanhealth.nlm.nih.gov
According to the 2000 census, more than 12 million Americans identify themselves as Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, or other Pacific Islanders. In addition, Asian Americans are exceedingly diverse, coming from nearly 50 countries and ethnic groups, each with distinct cultures, traditions and histories. Asian American diversity extends to socioeconomic indicators, with members found throughout the spectra of poverty to wealth, and illiteracy to advanced education. Although Asian Americans in the United States suffer from the same health problems as the population at large, certain illnesses predominate. This Web resource on Asian American Health, sponsored by the National Library of Medicine, Division of Specialized Information Services, is designed to increase public awareness of the health concerns of these important minority groups. Links are provided to an assortment of documents, websites, databases, and other resources. The site features census data on major Asian American populations, background on cultural traditions and heritage, links to health policy offices, online medical databases, publications and other organizations.

AIDS Community Information Outreach Projects
The solicitation for the 2003 round of AIDS Community Information Outreach Projects was recently posted on the NLM website at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/oam/oam.html (scroll down to Small Purchases, simplified acquisitions) This purpose of this solicitation is to assist community based organizations, libraries and local departments of health to improve access to AIDS-related information in the way most suitable for their local setting. Funding may be used for such things as purchasing equipment, Internet connectivity, training, and resource development. Information about previously funded projects is available at http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/HIV/HIVOutProj.html The solicitation has been changed somewhat from last year and, in addition to having a standard award for up to $50,000 for a full, detailed proposal, express awards are being offered for up to $10,000. These express awards require a simplified proposal format and are for a set of fairly defined activities. Proposals are due at NLM on June 20th and awards will be made in September.

Chemical Spell Checker
A new spell checker has been added to the NLM ChemIDplus database(http://chem.sis.nlm.nih.gov/chemidplus). New spelling indices were built for all of the over 1,300,000 chemical names and synonyms. All ChemID queries that ask for a specific name and give no retrieval are then checked against these indices, and a list of possible matches is returned to the user for selection. Most common typing and phonetic transcription errors are caught in this process, cutting down greatly on missed retrieval of known substances.

What are the key resources in health economics? The National Library of Medicine contracted with AcademyHealth to tackle this question and develop a report with a core list of materials (books, journals, websites and bibliographic databases) and a desired list of books and journals in the field of health economics. The lists are primarily geared to individuals who are new to the field or unfamiliar with the various resources on health economics and need to acquire and/or access publications, databases, and websites in the health economics domain.

One last NLM Announces:
Partners In Information Access Site Redesign Linking the Public Health Workforce to Information for Improved Practice
The National Library of Medicine announces the release of the new Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce website (http://phpartners.org/). This site is one result of a collaboration of U.S. government agencies, public health organizations and health sciences libraries. The goal of both the Partners project and the Partners site is to provide the public health workforce with timely, convenient access to information resources. This goal is realized through collaborative work on five objectives:

• Increase awareness and use of distributed learning resources among the public health workforce, with an emphasis on the resources available through the National Library of Medicine, the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;
• Assist the public health workforce in obtaining the hardware and software as well as the Internet connection and satellite reception needed for effective access to information resources;
• Train the public health workforce to use the technology required for effective access to information resources;
• Train the public health workforce to identify and use pertinent information resources and services;
• Increase health sciences librarians' awareness of the needs of and resources within the public health workforce.

War Is Bad for the Public's Health
http://healthlinks.washington.edu/nwcphp/nph/s2003/viewpoint_s2003.html

The public health repercussions of the war in Iraq have meant a severe health crisis there and harsh budget cuts in state health and social services here. In "War is Bad for the Public's Health," University of Washington's Amy Hagopian calls on the public health community to respond collectively to these threats and provide the leadership to oppose the war and its effects. This opinion piece was written during the fighting but still applies. The APHA resolution referred to in the article is located at http://www.apha.org/legislative/policy/2002/2002-11-oposwar.pdf.

Webcasts for Professional Development: How to Prepare For and Enjoy Webcasts

Just-in-time learning and informal learning is important to keep up with important changes in your discipline. While it's pretty efficient to learn through reading, sometimes it helps to see a real person discussing issues of importance. With travel so constrained, attending workshops or even going to conferences and annual meetings has become a problem. Luckily for those in that position, it has become much easier to view conference talks, grand round discussions and other audio/video presentations through streaming media in the form of Webcasts. This short paper will discuss how to find Webcasts, how to set up your equipment and download appropriate software for viewing Webcasts and will give hints for viewing Webcasts. Lastly, it will point you in the direction of other resources, especially Webcast FAQs.

Go on to the full text of this article.

2002 ASPH Annual Data Report is now available
http://www.asph.org/document.cfm?page=749

Data on Fall 2002 applications, new enrollments and students, as well as 2001-2002 graduate information from the 32 accredited schools of public health are presented in this report. View the report online in PDF or contact Mah-Sere Sow at msow@asph.org to obtain a hard copy.

ABC's of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans
http://www.dga2000training.usda.gov/

Advancing HP 2010 Objectives through Community-Based Education: A Curriculum Planning Guide

Healthy People Objective 1-7 is to "increase the proportion of schools of medicine, schools of nursing and health professional training schools whose basic curriculum for health care providers includes the core competencies in health promotion and disease prevention." In an effort to equip health professional educators with the necessary skills and knowledge to expand the prevention content in their curriculum, Community Campus Partnerships for Health (CCPH) is pleased to announce the development of "Advancing the Healthy People 2010 Objectives through Community-Based Education: A Curriculum Planning Guide." The guide was made possible in part by a grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service, and an unrestricted educational grant from Pfizer Public Health. The curriculum is not available online. It can be purchased. For more information, see http://www.ccph.info.

Aging Resources

Developed by the American Federation for Aging Research (with an educational grant from Pifzer), Infoaging.org "delivers the latest research-based information on a wide range of age-related diseases, conditions, issues, features, and news." A good place to start for first-time visitors, the news center featured on the site is a frequently updated collection of links to news articles from a number of reputable sources dealing with Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and other germane topics. The Ask the Expert section contains long-form answers to a host of questions dealing with caloric intake, memory loss, prostate cancer, and alcohol usage from medical experts and researchers. Along with these areas, two sections (Biology of Aging and Healthy Aging) offer suggestions on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle throughout the life cycle. Finally, users can utilize a search engine to hone in on specific areas, along with a online Web form that allows individuals the ability to subscribe (at no cost) to receive print versions of upcoming health newsletters. [Scout Report]

Sponsored by AARP, AgeSource Worldwide is searchable free of charge AgeSource Worldwide describes clearinghouses, databases, libraries, directories, statistical resources, bibliographies and reading lists, texts, and Web "metasites" focused on aging or closely allied subjects. The topics covered range from Alzheimer's disease to wills and estate planning. AgeSource Worldwide includes more than 200 information resources in 24 countries-with 125 based in the United States alone. Most of the information resources are located in North America and Europe. We hope the international usefulness of AgeSource Worldwide is enhanced by having its navigation and help pages also available in French and Spanish.

Antimicrobial Resistance
http://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/

The National Center for Infectious Diseases provides both basic general information about the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and clinical and technical information for health professionals. The site has a glossary, links to relevant websites, and tips for preventing the spread of drug resistance and of infectious diseases. [Copyright 2002 by Librarians' Index to the Internet, lii.org]

Avoiding Armageddon
http://www.pbs.org/avoidingarmageddon/

BestTreatments.org

Biodefense: A Need for Public Understanding and the Critical Role of Science Teachers
http://science-education.nih.gov/WebPages.nsf/WebPages/Biodefense+Insert/$File/Biodefense+Section.pdf

CABI Publishing - Useful Resources

Many of the new books published by CABI have chapters that can be read online -- see the list at http://www.cabi-publishing.org/Bookshop/Readingroom/Browse.asp.

CABI provides a list of interactive tutorials (http://www.cabi-publishing.org/Products/Guides/guides.asp) created with Macromedia Authorware 4. The first three (Modules 1 to 3) are general tutorials on CABI (the Organization), CAB ABSTRACTS and the current range of database products and services. The remaining tutorials (Modules 4 to 8) are designed specifically for users of CABCD with SilverPlatter’s WinSPIRS search software.

"Covering Permanent War"
http://www.mjfellows.org/journal/spring03/permanent-war.html

"Covering Permanent War" is the cover article of the Journal of the Knight-Wallace Fellows (Spring 2003, Volume 13, No. 2) which features the national conference entitled "Covering Permanent War and Bio-Terrorism: The Press and Public Policy" presented at the University of Michigan earlier this year. War correspondents Christiane Amanpour (CNN) and Ashleigh Banfield (NBC) headlined a panel of journalists and experts, including Dr. Arnold Monto, director of the university's Bioterrorism Preparedness Initiative and the Academic Center for Public Health Preparedness (A-CPHP), at the conference. Video of the conference is available at http://www.mjfellows.org/warconference/.

Designing & Building Healthy Places
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyplaces/

CDC has created a new website on the built environment. The site notes "As we embark into the 21st century, the interaction between people and their environments, natural as well as human-made, continues to emerge as a major issue concerning public health." The site is still a work in progress. It includes "Healthy Places Terminology" and a collected of full-text articles and reports.

Environmental Genome Project
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/envgenom/home.htm

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences announced the completion of the initial phase of the environmental genome project, which was initiated in 1998. The website includes Research Activities on population-based epidemiology.

Environmental Maps (E-Maps)
http://www.hud.gov/offices/cio/emaps/index.cfm

This free Internet service, from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), combines information on HUD's community development and housing programs with EPA's environmental data. HUD E-MAPS provides: location, type and performance of HUD-funded activities in every neighborhood across the country; and select EPA information on brownfields, hazardous wastes, air pollution and waste water discharges.

European Union Citizens and Sources of Information about Health
http://europa.eu.int/comm/health/ph_information/documents/EB_58_en.pdf

The European Opinion Research Group released their most recent poll information which reveals that only 3.5% of respondents use the Internet as their main source for health information.

Evidence Report Summary on Cancer Control Interventions
http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/epcsums/canconsum.htm

Fred L. Soper Papers
http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/VV/

Harnessing Genetics to Prevent Disease & Improve Health
http://www.prevent.org/publications/GeneticsReport.pdf

The Partnership for Prevention's new guide, that identifies ways states can shape genetics policies so as to advance individual and collective health. Genomics: A Guide for Public Health Interest in integrating a genomics perspective into public health policy and practice continues to grow as genomic discoveries multiply and lead to new insights into health and disease. How do public health agencies capitalize on this knowledge to improve the public's health? How do public health agencies develop the partnerships and processes to successfully integrate genomics into policy and programs? How do public health agencies assure that genomic approaches are both scientifically sound and publicly acceptable? ASTHO has developed Genomics: A Guide for Public Health, a toolkit which begins to address these issues.

Health Education Assets Library (HEAL)
http://www.healcentral.org/

Users of HEAL have access to thousands of free multimedia resources for health sciences education. Registration involves providing basic identification and institutional affiliation information. Any information you submit will be kept confidential and will be used for evaluation purposes only. There is no registration fee, nor is there any obligation to contribute content to HEAL associated with registering as a user. The vision of HEAL is to become a premier, national resource for all levels of health sciences educators by providing free and easy access to a large number of high-quality health educational materials. The prototype version of the HEAL application is available for use online. The current collection now consists of over 2,000 images, sounds, and videos covering the areas of dermatology, obstetrics and gynecology, neuroanatomy, neurology, pathology, biochemistry, and cardiology. This prototype collection allows the user to explore the functionality of the application but does not reflect the quality, quantity, and variety of HEAL's future collection. This project has been made possible by grants from the National Science Foundation, and from the National Library of Medicine, and in collaboration with the Association of American Medical Colleges. HEAL is a component of the National Sciences Digital Library.

Health Promotion & Disease Prevention Modules
http://www.asaging.org/cdc/

HIV at Work
http://www.hivatwork.org/

Addressing the question of HIV and AIDS in the workplace remains a subject that many employers (and employees) may have difficulty dealing with. This website developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers some valuable resources to counteract this problem. Persons viewing the site for the first time may want to take a 10-question interactive quiz that deals with basic information about AIDS before browsing at length. One of the centerpieces of the site is the HIV/ AIDS Resource Guide, which contains fact sheets and other resources to help labor leaders conduct HIV/ AIDS prevention programs and raise general awareness about these conditions. The other sections of the site contain material for employers looking to develop an in-house awareness program, and material on legal issues in the workplace as they relate to HIV/ AIDS. Finally, the site also features a search engine, allowing users to quickly look for information on specific topics. [Scout Report]

Invasivespecies.gov: A Gateway to Federal and State Invasive Species Activities and Programs
http://invasivespecies.gov/

This site deals with the U.S. federal government's response to the impacts of invasive plants and animals. The site has species profiles, plus information and links for news and events, laws and legislation, agencies and organizations, transportation of species from one location to another, and many other resources on issues involving invasive species. This is also the website for the National Invasive Species Council, an inter-departmental coordinating agency. [Copyright 2002 by Librarians' Index to the Internet, lii.org]

Literacy Resources

Jointly sponsored by the International Literacy Institute and the National Center on Adult Literacy at the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education, Literacy.org is a cornucopia of valuable resources related to adult literacy in the United States and throughout the entire world. Particularly impressive, the search engine allows users to browse their holdings by country or region, topics, or perspective (such as teacher, practitioner, and so on). Their publication section is quite authoritative in its scope and depth, containing numerous technical reports, policy briefs, and international papers. Equally compelling are the sections devoted to the organization's ongoing projects, such as Tech.21, which is a hands-on dissemination system for the implementation and enhancement of high quality IT applications in adult education. Additionally, the website is frequently updated, and new developments in the field of adult literacy are prominently posted on the site's homepage. For anyone working in the field of adult literacy, this site will most likely prove to be an indispensable resource. [Scout Report]

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is working on Healthy People 2010 health literacy library initiative. The goal is provide health materials. The web site for the is http://www.healthlit.org. The main contact for the project is Healthy People 2010 Library Initiative Directorate for Education & Human Resources (EHR) Programs American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 1200 New York Ave., NW Washington, DC 20005 (202) 326-6670 Fax (202) 371-9849 healthlit@aaas.org

The Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) is pleased to introduce Fact Sheets on Health Literacy: An Update. The set of eight fact sheets cover why health literacy needs to be addressed. The sheets offer suggestions on how to prepare materials that are easy for consumers to understand and how to better communicate with them by recognizing their cultural beliefs and values. To view these fact sheets, please go to the following website link: http://www.chcs.org/resource/hl.html The bibliography used to prepare the fact sheets will also be available. The CHCS is grateful for the assistance of a number of the nation's foremost experts on health literacy as well as the financial support received from The Commonwealth Fund and Pfizer Inc for the production of these fact sheets. For more information, contact:
Constance Martin, Program Associate
Center for Health Care Strategies, Inc.
1009 Lenox Drive, Suite 204
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
(609) 895-8101 PH
(609) 895-9648 FX
cm@chcs.org

Medicaid Resource Book
http://www.kff.org/content/2003/2236/

This full text reference is intended "to assist the public and policymakers in understanding the structure and operation of the Medicaid program." Describes program eligibility, benefits, financing, and administration. Also includes legislative history, resource bibliographies, and indexes to federal laws and regulations. From the Kaiser Family Foundation. [Copyright 2002 by Librarians' Index to the Internet, lii.org]

Mental Health Resources

National Institute of Mental Health: Child and Adolescent Mental Health
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/childmenu.cfm
Developed as a public service by the National Institute of Mental Health, this website contains a wealth of materials that will be very useful to mental health practitioners, parents, and those who work with young people in any capacity. First-time visitors will want to read the brief notes on the mental health of children and adolescents, as well as the section dealing with the treatment of children with mental disorders, which answers some basic questions about various disorders and psychotropic medicines commonly prescribed to treat these conditions. The Educational Materials section provides a number of booklets, fact sheets, and additional websites on such conditions as autism, depression, learning disabilities, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Researchers and health care professionals will want to examine the sections devoted to current research reports and multi-center collaborations, including the Child and Adolescent Research Consortium and the Child Abuse and Neglect Working Group. [Scout Report]

CMHS Program Spotlight - Survey and Analysis Branch
http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/highlights/May2003/spotlight/pubs.asp
This monthly update introduces fact sheets about the Mental Health Statistics Improvement Program and the National Reporting Program for Mental Health Statistics, among other reports offering mental health statistics.

National Quality Measures Clearinghouse
http://www.qualitymeasures.ahrq.gov/

The National Quality Measures Clearinghouse (NQMC), sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is a database and website for information on specific evidence-based health care quality measures and measure sets. NQMC is sponsored by AHRQ to promote widespread access to quality measures by the health care community and other interested individuals. The NQMC mission is to provide practitioners, health care providers, health plans, integrated delivery systems, purchasers and others an accessible mechanism for obtaining detailed information on quality measures, and to further their dissemination, implementation, and use in order to inform health care decisions. NQMC builds on AHRQ's previous initiatives in quality measurement, including the Computerized Needs-Oriented Quality Measurement Evaluation System (CONQUEST), the Expansion of Quality of Care Measures (Q-SPAN) project, the Quality Measurement Network (QMNet) project, and the Performance Measures Inventory (PMI). The database inclusion criteria have been finalized to include both individual and population-based health measures (http://www.qualitymeasures.ahrq.gov/contact/coninclusion.aspx). Key components of NQMC include:

• Structured, standardized abstracts (summaries) containing information about measures and their development;
• A utility for comparing attributes of two or more quality measures in a side-by-side comparison;
• Links to full-text quality measures (when available) and/or ordering details for the full measure.

The site currently includes more than 100 measures with nearly 200 more in the pipeline for addition by Fall 2003. It will eventually grow to include thousands of measures. The NQMC would like help in: 1) promoting awareness of this resource for evidence-based measures and 2) encouraging submissions from measure developers, including supporting documentation (for more on this, see http://www.qualitymeasures.ahrq.gov/about/invsubmitmeasures.aspx) - so please feel free to share this information in your newsletters and add a link to your websites.

New and Little Known CDC Sites

Each visit to the CDC website is a discovery for even the most frequent users:

Communication at CDC: Resources for TV Writers and Producers
http://www.cdc.gov/communication/entertainment_resources.htm

National Laboratory Training Network Lending Library
http://www.phppo.cdc.gov/libnltn/

The National Laboratory Training Network (NLTN) Lending Library Index lists over nine hundred training and educational materials available for loan, free of charge, to laboratory scientists. Ideal for in-service training, cross-training, student education and self-study, the lending library items are available in a variety of formats, including videotapes, printed manuals, and electronic media. The NLTN Lending Library Index is searchable by topic, material type, and distribution date. Topics include bioterrorism, microbiology, hematology, phlebotomy, quality assurance and safety, to name a few. Additionally, the NLTN Lending Library Index contains links to CDC on-line training resources and NLTN laboratory training products offering continuing education credit. The National Laboratory Training Network is sponsored by: Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Healthy Aging - National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
http://www.cdc.gov/aging/index.htm

Environmental Public Health Tracking Program
http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/tracking/default.htm

The website at CDC's Office of Minority Health (OMH) has been redesigned. It may be found at http://www.cdc.gov/omh/.

New Web Portal for Cancer Control Planners, Program Staff, and Researchers
http://cancercontrolplanet.cancer.gov

Effective, evidence-based resources and products in comprehensive cancer control are now easy to find and use. See how Cancer Control PLANET (Plan, Link, Act, Network with Evidence-based Tools) can be your new Web portal to cancer control program planning and delivery. Cancer Control PLANET is sponsored by The National Cancer Institute (NCI) in collaboration with the American Cancer Society (ACS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Cancer Control PLANET is designed to help you move research into practice and address public health issues across the cancer control continuum. Cancer Control PLANET has links to cancer data, risk factor statistics, partners in comprehensive cancer control in every U.S. state, evidence-based intervention approaches, and research-tested programs and products. The portal will be updated regularly. Currently, intervention approaches and programs on Tobacco Control and Physical Activity are available for your use.

Following 5 simple steps, you can use Cancer Control PLANET to: 1. Assess your cancer control priorities. 2. Identify potential collaborating partners. 3. Determine the effectiveness of different intervention approaches. 4. Find actual research-tested intervention programs and products. 5. Plan and evaluate the programs you implement. For technical assistance or to provide feedback on the site, please use the 'contact us' feedback form at http://cancercontrolplanet.cancer.gov/contact.html or write to ccplanet@mail.nih.gov. * Topics coming soon in 2003 include: Sun Safety, Breast Cancer Screening, Cervical Cancer Screening, Colorectal Cancer Screening, Informed Decision Making for Cancer Screening, 5 A Day and Diet.

NewsHour Extra: Addressing Health Mysteries
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/teachers/lessonplans/health/sars_4-8.html

In this PBS NewsHour Extra lesson plan, students take an in-depth look at the SARS epidemic, with a particular focus on pan-national public health administration. A NewsHour interview with Dr. David Heyman, Director for Communicable Diseases at the World Health Organization (WHO), forms the basis of the exercise (video, audio, and transcript available). A NewsHour Extra story on SARS provides additional material. The site also offers ideas for homework and extension activities, each designed to help students explore and understand the process by which organizations like WHO tackle new disease outbreaks. [Scout Report]

PHDSC Web Based Resource Center
http://phdatastandards.info/

The Public Health Data Standards Consortium Web Based Resource Center is now live. Any comments or suggestions for the site are welcome - please send them to Vivian Auld at auld@nlm.nih.gov.

Recognizing Waterborne Disease And The Health Effects of Water Pollution
www.WaterHealthConnection.org

Contamination of water reserves by either chemical agents or infectious pathogens may affect the health of millions of residents in the United States. Water consumers are frequently unaware of the potential health risks associated with exposure to waterborne contaminants and often consult practicing physicians who are unfamiliar with water pollution issues and their subsequent impact on human health. Misdiagnosis and underdiagnosis of waterborne disease by the medical community may result in significant morbidity and mortality, particularly in vulnerable populations at increased risk of disease as a result of exposure to waterborne pathogens and chemical contaminants. The purpose of this Physician On-Line Reference Guide is to attempt to address this critical information gap and to provide busy practicing clinicians with informational resources and educational tools to assist them in the recognition of waterborne disease and the health effects of water pollution. The guide was produced by Patricia L. Meinhardt, MD, MPH, MA and sponsored by the American College of Preventive Medicine and funded by the Environmental Protection Agency, American Water Works Association, and Arnot Ogden Medical Center.

ReproLearn: Care of Women with HIV in Limited-Resource Settings
http://www.reproline.jhu.edu/video/hiv/tutorials/index.htm

Reproductive Health Online (ReproLine), an Internet resource associated with Johns Hopkins University, offers information and technical updates for reproductive healthcare providers, trainers, and faculty. ReproLine has developed eleven HIV/ AIDS tutorials as part of a series on the Care of Women with HIV in Limited-Resource Settings. These multimedia tutorials (each about 25-35 minutes long) include audio and/or video presentations from reproductive health experts, instructive photos and diagrams, links to related ReproLine articles, and a self-graded quiz. Users may also download tutorial transcripts and slides. [Scout Report]

Resistance Phenomenon in Microbes and Infectious Disease Vectors
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10651.html?iom_42903

The Resistance Phenomenon in Microbes and Infectious Disease Vectors: Implications for Human Health and Strategies for Containment. Workshop Summary (April 10) The emergence of mysterious new diseases, such as SARS, and the looming threat of bioterrorist attacks remind us of how vulnerable we can be to infectious agents. This report examines our understanding of the relationships among microbes, disease vectors, and human hosts, and explores possible new strategies for meeting the challenge of resistance. The report is a summary of a two-day workshop held by the Forum on Emerging Infections in February 2002. Read or order the report online.

Risk and Protective Factors of Child Delinquency
http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/ojjdp/193409.pdf

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has begun to issue a series of bulletins on child delinquency to provide the public and policy- makers with the latest research dealing with the prevention and reduction of this growing problem. As this first bulletin suggests in its introduction, "Preventing delinquency early in a child's life can pay significant dividends by reducing crime rates and decreasing crime-related expenditures of tax dollars." This particular 16-page bulletin, released in April 2003, deals with the risk and protective factors that are involved in developing effective early intervention and protection programs for juvenile offenders under the age of 13. The report begins with a brief discussion of previous research in the area, and continues on to identify some of the key risk factors that may lead to a young person's involvement with illegal and violent activities. As the report concludes, the authors note that there is no single risk factor that may indicate that a juvenile will develop a tendency towards these behaviors, but that early intervention programs have demonstrated some measure of success. [Scout Report]

SARS and Its Implications for U.S. Public Health Policy
http://healthyamericans.org/resources/files/SARSreport.pdf

Trust for America's Health (TFAH), a non-partisan public health advocacy organization, issued a new report last week: "SARS and Its Implications for U.S. Public Health Policy - We've Been Lucky." The report examines how the recent SARS outbreak highlights the "gaping holes" in the public health system -- the network of local, state, and federal health agencies that collectively are responsible for disease prevention, response, and control in America. It reviews how SARS cannot be considered in isolation, but in the context of potential, emerging, and existing health threats the country faces, ranging from West Nile Virus to cancer to potential acts of biological, chemical, or radiological terrorism.

Scientific Criteria to Ensure Safe Food
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10690.html?iom_52803

A number of court cases in recent years have challenged the validity of some of the criteria that underlie U.S. food safety regulations and undermined regulatory agencies' authority to enforce these standards. Concerned about the growing controversy, Congress mandated the IOM to study the scientific basis for existing criteria and the extent to which they are appropriate to protect consumers. This report provides a blueprint for how the agencies responsible for regulating food safety should develop appropriate, science-based criteria. It also identifies barriers that impede regulatory actions to improve food safety, such as adopting new technologies and enforcing standards. Report recommendations include the development of a national plan to harmonize foodborne disease surveillance with the monitoring of pathogens across the food production and distribution continuum and the adoption of science-based, transparent strategies to develop food safety criteria by food regulatory agencies.

Smallpox and its Eradication
http://www.who.int/emc/diseases/smallpox/Smallpoxeradication.html

Smart-Mouth.org

A fun, interactive site to help children learn about nutrition. There are quick facts (called "Snacktoids"), recipes, articles, video clips, and games -- all designed to promote healthy eating habits. Includes annotated links to additional resources. From the Center for Science in the Public Interest. [Copyright 2002 by Librarians' Index to the Internet, lii.org]

SOPHE's Social Marketing Health Communications SIG Resource Guide
http://www.sophe.org/Acrobat/social_marketing.pdf

The Stanford Health Library
http://healthlibrary.stanford.edu/

A collection of resources from the free consumer health library of Stanford Hospital and Clinics. Includes links to Web sites and electronic books (e-books) on women's health, children's health, men's health, diseases and disorders, and drug information and therapies. An online video collection addresses current medical treatments, cancer supportive care, and other health topics. The library will also prepare personalized, custom research packets (no initial cost). [Copyright 2002 by Librarians' Index to the Internet, lii.org]

Steps to a HealthierUS
http://www.HealthierUS.gov/steps

"Steps to a HealthierUS: Putting Prevention First" summit was attended by over 1,000 community leaders, policy makers, health officials, and others. The Secretary laid out his priorities and programs for Steps to a HealthierUS, focusing attention on the importance of prevention and promising approaches for promoting healthy environments. Information about the summit and an archived Webcast are available from the site, along with brochures, fact sheets and an action plan.

Volunteers in Health Care (VIH)
http://www.volunteersinhealthcare.org/home.htm

• Provides technical assistance to organizations or individuals looking to start, expand, enhance or improve services.
• Identifies and shares models for approaching common issues and challenges, such as improving access to pharmaceuticals.
• Creates products, such as How to Start a Dental Program, tailored to the needs of organizations using clinical volunteers.
• Responds to information requests unlikely to be found at any other single source, such as, "How many states in the U.S. have charitable immunity legislation specific to volunteer clinicians?"
• Maintains a website comprising a range of information, such as topical "field reports," current news and legislation, grant announcements and RxAssist, a searchable database on pharmaceutical company’s patient assistance programs.
• Awards small grants and helps fund networking opportunities such as meetings, site visits, and training sessions.
• Engages national partners and pursues innovative approaches on issues of importance to the uninsured.

www.AskMe3.org

Aimed at both health care providers and patients, this site's name stems from three basic questions it recommends that patients ask their doctors: Watch the day of understanding webcast,

Upcoming Conferences

ASTHO-NACCHO 2003 Joint Conference, September 9 -12, Phoenix, Arizona

Now more than ever, state and local public health agencies need to communicate and work together. Join us to share your issues and work toward solutions with both state and local leaders in public health. The conference theme, "Leveraging the Forces Shaping Public Health," reflects the fact that there are outside forces - economic, demographic, political, epidemiological, etc. - that impact how public health will change and operate in the future. The event is expected to attract over 800 public health practitioners, affiliates, and partners from the local, state, federal, and national > levels. All conference sessions and activities will be held at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix and the Phoenix Civic Plaza. For more information, visit http://www.naccho.org or http://www.astho.org.

NACCHO Learning Institute, September 12, 2003, Phoenix, Arizona:
NACCHO is pleased to offer this expanded, in-depth post-conference workshop series at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix. Registration and box lunch service begin at 12:00 noon; each workshop begins promptly at 1:00 pm and conclude at 5:00 pm. The workshops titles are: Building Cultural Competency in Environmental Health, Business Planning in Public Health, GIS for Top Public Health Agency Executives, How to Organize a State Association of City and County Health Officials, Information Technology Leadership for Public Health Executives, and Media Training - Learn How to Effectively Deliver Your Message on Camera. Workshop registration is $100. Please visit http://www.naccho.org for more information.

Copyright Internet Scout Project, 1994-2001. http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/ Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of the Scout Report provided the copyright notice and this paragraph is preserved on all copies. The InterNIC provides information about the Internet to the US research and education community under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation: NCR-9218742. The Government has certain rights in this material.

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