Surf's Up - Internet sites of interest
Caron Hartley
Research Librarian
Kings Fund Information and
Library Service
Email:
Anthea Sutton
Information Officer (Reviews and Special
Projects)
ScHARR
Email:
1) New
Sites/Resources
Beating Bowel
Cancer
http://www.beatingbowelcancer.org/
Beating Bowel Cancer is a national charity working to raise awareness of symptoms, promote
early diagnosis and encourage open access to treatment choice for
those affected by bowel cancer. This website aims to provide
authoritative information about the disease, its symptoms, what to do
if diagnosed, and what treatment choices are available. They encourage
people to communicate frankly about all aspects of this disease, in
the belief that, if we, as a nation, were less embarrassed
to talk bottoms, fewer people would die of bowel cancer.
The website is targeted at both
health professionals and the general public/patients.
Choice in Mental Health
http://www.nimhe.org.uk/choice/index.cfm?fuseaction=main.viewSection&intSectionID=766
On this website you can find out
how the
Care Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP), is working towards
more choice for all people who use mental health services. The site
includes: examples of good practices, tools and
The Checklist, which gives guidance and
ideas for local mental health services and the people who use them on
providing, and making the most of, choices. The website is in the
process of development.
Clinical and Health
Outcomes Knowledge Base
http://www.nchod.nhs.uk
Managed for the NHS
Health and Social Care Information Centre by the National Centre for
Health Outcomes Development (NCHOD), this is a one-stop source of all
information on health outcomes generated by NCHOD. It includes
comparative data for 700 health and local government organisations in
England plus advice on how to measure health and the impact of health
care. Data that may potentially identify an individual has been
removed from the internet version
(see disclosure letter). The NHS version allows NHS staff access
to such data. Data will be released on an ongoing basis.
End of Life
Programme
http://eolc.cbcl.co.uk/eolc
Following the
publication of,
'Building on the Best, Choice Responsiveness and Equity in the NHS,'
(December 2003), it was shown that patients and carers want choice
over care at the end of life. The End of Life Care (EoLC) Programme
was set up to achieve this and to improve end of life care for all
patients. This site aims to support the programme by sharing good
practice, resources and information. It is still in the process of
development.
ESRC Society Today
http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/
This is a new website
offering access to a range of high quality social and economic
research. It is run by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
- the UK's largest funding agency for research and postgraduate
training relating to social and economic issues. The website brings
together all ESRC-funded research with social science research from a
select number of other high quality UK and international sources,
including the Social Science Information Gateway (SOSIG), the UK Data
Archive, the Office of National Statistics and the Social Sciences
Research Network (SSRN). The website includes information on research
available, planned and in progress across the full-range of social
science subjects, including economics, the environment, human
behaviour, citizenship, lifestyle, social stability and work. ESRC
Society Today combines the organisation's previous
http://www.esrc.ac.uk/
and http://www.regard.co.uk/ websites.
European Community
Health Indicators (ECHI)
http://europa.eu.int/comm/health/ph_information/dissemination/echi/echi_en.htm
The ECHI (European Community Health
Indicators) project was carried out under the framework of the Health
Monitoring Programme and the Community Public Health Programme
2003-2008. The result is a list of indicators for the public health
field, which cover a range of areas, including: Demographic and
socio-economic factors; Health status; Determinants of Health and
Health Interventions – Health Services. Data is given for European
Union countries.
International
Centre on Nurse Migration (ICNM)
http://www.intlnursemigration.org/default.shtml
The Commission on
Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) and the International
Council of Nurses (ICN) launched this new global resource in May. The
aim of the Centre's website is that it will act as a portal for
policy, research studies and other information regarding migration
trends and statistics.
National Electronic
Library for Medicines
http://www.druginfozone.nhs.uk/help/about_nelm.htm
DrugInfoZone has been
re-launched as the National electronic Library for Medicines. This is
the first part of a series of transformations, and eventually the NeLM
will be developed as a central portal, storing and linking to a wide
range of medicines information products procured or produced by the
NHS, and promoting safe, effective and efficient use of medicines
within the NHS. The site has a wide range of information products,
including news, current awareness, drug reviews and provides a
facility for sharing practice. Material is updated daily.
NHS Institute for
Innovation and Improvement
http://www.institute.nhs.uk/
The NHS Institute for
Innovation and Improvement was established as a Special Health
Authority in July 2005. Based on the campus of the University of
Warwick, the mission of the NHS Institute is to support the NHS and
its workforce in accelerating the delivery of world-class health and
healthcare for patients and public by encouraging innovation and
developing capability at the frontline. Little but basic
introductory material is available currently on the website.
Office of Public
Sector Information
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/
The
Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) has grown out of Her
Majesty’s Stationery Office (HMSO). OPSI has a broad remit to advise
on and regulate the operation of the re-use of public sector
information. HMSO continues to exist and fulfil its core activities
including responsibility for the publication of legislation and the
management of Crown copyright operating from within OPSI. All
legislation will continue to be published on behalf of the Controller
of HMSO, and is still available from this site at
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation/about_legislation.htm.
RCN – Wipe It Out
Campaign
http://www.rcn.org.uk/resources/mrsa/
The Royal College of
Nursing, with support from its partners, Nursing Standard, Kimberly
Clark and the Infection Control Nurses' Association, has mounted the
Wipe it out campaign.
The campaign aims to
provide health care staff, employers, patients and visitors with
resources to promote better and safer practice around MRSA and health
care associated infections (HCAIs).
Social Care Online
http://www.scie-socialcareonline.org.uk/
Re-launched as Social
Care online, this aims to offer the most complete range of information
and research on all aspects of social care in the UK. This resource is
managed by SCIE and is an expanded and restructured replacement for
the Electronic Library for Social Care (eLSC) and CareData. SCIE
explains the changes in more detail in the
About Social Care Online section. Resources include: good
practice guidance, government publications, inspection reports,
legislation, service user knowledge, social care practice reports,
standards documents and training material, consultation documents,
directories of other social care resources and organisations, and free
access to AgeInfo. Development of the site is still in progress and
some resources, such as the Social Care Access to Research Evidence
(SCARE) briefings are still held on the eLSC site,
http://www.elsc.org.uk/briefings/index.htm.
The European
Library
http://www.theeuropeanlibrary.org/portal/index.htm
The
European Library webservice is a portal which offers access to the
combined resources (both digital and non-digital) of the 43 national
libraries of Europe. It offers free searching and delivers digital
objects - some free, some priced. The contents of Gabriel, the
previous website of the European national libraries, will be
incorporated into The European Library. The portal has been
launched as a Beta version and they would be grateful for feedback.
2) Changes to
Existing Sites/Resources
King’s Fund
http://www.kingsfund.org.uk
A new revamped website
was launched in July, offering access to an increased range of online
resources, including free publications (including
Reading lists), briefings,
articles and
links, plus all there is to know about the King's Fund and
their work.
Modernisation
Agency
The new Modernisation
Agency WISE website has changed its URL. The homepage can now be
found at
http://www.wise.nhs.uk/cmswise/default.htm.
OECD Health Data
2005
http://www.oecd.org/document/30/0,2340,en_2649_34631_12968734_1_1_1_1,00.html
OECD Health Data
2005, released 8th June 2005, offers the most comprehensive source
of comparable statistics on health and health systems across OECD
countries. Although this is a subscription product, some free
statistical information is available from this site.
Public Health
Excellence at the National Institute for Health and Clinical
Excellence (NICE)
http://www.publichealth.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=home
The new National
Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has taken on the
functions of the Health Development Agency to create a single
excellence-in-practice organisation responsible for providing national
guidance on the promotion of good health and the prevention and
treatment of ill health. NICE has reviewed those HDA websites that
have not been fully integrated into the new NICE public health
website, and issued a
press release, giving their decision as to their future.
-
HealthPromis,
the Evidence Base database and the HEA Electronic
Archive are to be closed
-
The content of the
Evidence Base website is now available from the
Evidence section of the website. The supporting references for
their evidence briefings will be available in a single document,
linked to from the summary
-
The Teenage
Pregnancy and Parenthood – Local Research database will be
integrated into the new NICE public health website over the summer.
The Health Action
website has also now closed.
ReFeR Database
http://www.refer.nhs.uk/ViewWebPage.asp?Page=Home
The Research Findings electronic Register (ReFeR)
is a database of the findings of research studies funded by the
Department of Health. Details of ongoing and recently completed
research projects funded by, or of interest to, the United Kingdom's
National Health Service (NHS) are held in the
National Research Register
The National Research Register does not, however, include results or
findings of research projects, and ReFeR fills in that gap by
publishing the findings of the projects listed in the National
Research Register. Update Software Ltd, in partnership with the
Centre for Reviews And Dissemination
has introduced a new system for the maintenance and publication of the
ReFeR and this version supersedes that published by the Department of
Health at
http://www.info.doh.gov.uk/doh/refr_web.nsf/Home?OpenForm
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