Surf's Up - Internet sites of interest
Anthea Sutton
Information Officer (Reviews and Special
Projects)
ScHARR
Email:
Compiled [10th July 2007]
NEW WEBSITES/RESOURCES
Academic Live Search Engine
http://academic.live.com
Microsoft has
launched a search engine, “Academic Live” which enables users to
search for scholarly journal articles, conference proceedings,
dissertations, and academic books.
Breastfeeding
http://www.breastfeeding.nhs.uk/
The Department of Health has created a
breastfeeding website to encourage more women to breastfeed. The site
contains information on the benefits of breastfeeding, how to
breastfeed and details of where to get advice and support. The site
also has an area for health professionals, which includes resources
such as leaflets and posters to download and links to the latest
reports, guidance and research.
Caring Choices
http://www.caringchoices.org.uk/
‘Caring
Choices: Who will pay for long-term care?’
is a nationwide initiative to help shape future policy on long-term
care for older people. The website includes related latest news and
resources. The initiative is a collaboration of 15 organisations that
represent all aspects of the long-term care system, such as The King’s
Fund, The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Help The Aged and Age Concern.
Center on Aging Policy Evidence Database
http://socialworkleadership.org/nsw/cap/ebp.php
The Social Work Leadership Initiative (SWLI), a
project of the New York Academy of Medicine, has compiled an evidence
database for social care of the Aged. The database is updated
regularly with articles published in professional journals both in the
USA and internationally.
Clinical Knowledge Summaries
http://cks.library.nhs.uk/
Clinical
Knowledge Summaries (CKS) aim to provide access to practical and
reliable clinical knowledge about the common conditions managed in
primary and first contact care. CKS are funded by the NHS and are
part of the National Library for Health website.
Community Health Involvement &
Empowerment Forum (CHIEF)
http://www.chiefcic.com/
The Community Health Involvement & Empowerment
Forum (CHIEF) is now online with a new website. The aim of the CHIEF
is to:
-
Provide community members with up-to-date health
information, impartial advice, emotional support and advocacy
service to help reduce health inequalities in England & Wales
-
Empower community members with knowledge and
understanding to make better health choices to improve their quality
of life Improve the community's access to health care, social care,
and mental health care services in England and Wales
-
Improve
and enhance community's capacity building potentials in England and
Wales.
Community Health Profiles
http://www.communityhealthprofiles.info/
The Public
Health Observatories have produced a set of community health profiles
that are designed to show the health of people in local authorities
across England, showing where there are important problems with health
or health inequalities. The profiles will be updated every year.
Congenital Heart Disease Website
http://www.ccad.org.uk/congenital
The Information Centre for Health and Social Care
has created a website to provide parents and carers of children with
congenital heart disease information. The website includes profiles
of every congenital heart disease centre in the UK.
Core Resources for Clinical Research eBook
http://www.icr-global.org/id519ebooks.asp
The Institute of Clinical Research (ICR) has
published ‘Core Resources for Clinical Research: A guide to
information’. This book contains bibliographic details of books,
journals, organisations, portals, libraries, authorities, databases
and clinical trial registers relevant to clinical research. This
title is available both in print (for a charge of £5) and as a free
eBook at:
http://www.icr-global.org/documents/ebooks/eBook_core_resources.pdf.
Disease Management Information Toolkit
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Policyandguidance/Healthandsocialcaretopics/Longtermconditions/DH_074772
The Department
of Health have produced the Disease Management Information Toolkit (DMIT).
The toolkit is a voluntary good practice tool that the NHS may wish to
use to strengthen their approach to Disease Management. It contains
PCT level data on conditions contributing to high numbers of emergency
bed days. The information can be used to inform commissioning
decisions at local level by planning appropriate interventions,
matching care to need.
East Midlands Ambulance Service Online First Aid
Advice
http://www.emas.nhs.uk/our-services/first-aid-training/on-line-first-aid-advice/
The East Midlands Ambulance Service website now
has online first aid advice that can be downloaded to MP3 players.
Available topics include dealing with cuts, burns, fits and how to
resuscitate an unconscious patient.
Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/SI/si2007/uksi_20071263_en.pdf
The Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations
2007 came into force on 30 April 2007. The regulations make it
unlawful for health and social care organisations to discriminate
unfairly against lesbian, gay and bisexual people.
Genetic Disorders Information Resource
http://www.geneticalliance.org/ws_display.asp?filter=portal.press.release
The US National
Center for Biotechnology Information and the Genetic Alliance have
launched a web-based portal designed to help patients, care givers and
health professionals locate information on genetic disorders available
from the American National Library of Medicine. The portal brings
together on one web page, genetic disorders information including
descriptions of diseases and symptoms and current scientific research
in the field.
Health Protection Agency Information on Flooded
Homes
http://www.hpa.org.uk/flooding/guidance.htm
The Health Protection Agency has published
information for residents whose homes have been flooded on its
website. The guidance includes advice on: protecting against
infection; how to clean up; returning to your home; food preparation
and storage; what to do if drinking water becomes contaminated; how to
deal with chemical hazards; and the safe use of emergency generators.
Hospital Episodes Statistics Tool
http://www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/hospital-care/hospital-activity-hes
The Information Centre website now has access to
a wider range of information from the Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES).
This includes the ability to create and download custom tables of HES
data simultaneously broken down by organisation and clinical
classifications.
Journal Info
http://jinfo.lub.lu.se/
Lund University Libraries in Sweden have provided
a new tool to support researchers in the selection of journals for
publication. Journal information provided on the website includes
genre, access, costs and quality. You can also see which databases
list a particular journal, what it will cost for libraries and
alternative open access journals in existence. In total there are
currently 18000 journals in the database. The website is aimed at
researchers and the site exists in English and Swedish to reach as
many as possible. Information has been collated from the web and is
continually updated.
National Research Register for Social Care
http://www.scie-socialcareonline.org.uk/researchRegister/
The National Research Register for Social Care (NRRSC)
is a new resource for social care research, practice and service user
communities. The NRRSC will eventually record all social care
research being undertaken within Councils with Social Services
Responsibilities (CSSRs) that has been subject to independent ethical
and scientific review, including student projects. It can be searched
to obtain summary details of the individual studies and links to
further information.
New Deal for Carers
http://www.newdealforcarers.org/
The ‘New Deal for Carers’ website aims to
engage carers in debate about what would make a
positive difference or improve their lives by encouraging them to post
their ideas on the website (via the ‘Ideas Tree’) and to
comment on the ideas of others. This website is part of a government
consultation and national debate on how to improve the lives and
future of carers. The ‘Ideas Tree’ will remain live until mid
September 2007.
NHS Choices
http://www.nhschoices.nhs.uk/
The Department of Health have launched NHS
Choices, a website providing accessible information for the public
about conditions, treatments and hospitals. The website aims to
empower the public to make informed choices about
their own health, including when and where they receive treatment. In
additon, NHS Choices has been designed as a resource for voluntary
sector workers, patient advocates and carers to distribute information
to patients who do not use the Internet. NHS Choices replaces the
previous main NHS site (
http://www.nhs.uk/).
Online Cancer Education Forum
http://www.onlinecancereducationforum.com/
The European Journal of Cancer Care has launched
an e-learning environment: ‘Online Cancer Education Forum’. A
topic will be introduced in each issue of the journal and more
in-depth information on the topic will be available on the forum.
Readers of the journal are encouraged to post comments on the topic
via the forum discussion board. All discussions will be summarised
and archived in order to build a library of professional debate for
the wide range of health professionals within cancer care.
Population Trends 128
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=6303
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has
published ‘Population Trends 128 – Summer 2007’ which includes
information on the accuracy of the official UK population projections
of the last fifty years and some of the recent key trends in marriage.
Preventing and Reducing Alcohol-Related Harm
eBook
http://www.jrf.org.uk/knowledge/findings/socialpolicy/2038.asp
The Joseph
Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has published a report entitled ‘Multi-component
programmes: an approach to prevent and reduce alcohol-related harm’.
This report draws on evidence from programmes in the USA, Australia
and Scandinavia and is available as an electronic book from the JRF
website at:
http://www.jrf.org.uk/bookshop/eBooks/1976-prevention-alcohol-harm.pdf.
There is also a summary of the report available at:
http://www.jrf.org.uk/knowledge/findings/socialpolicy/2038.asp.
Primary and Social Care Premises: Planning and
Design Guidance
http://www.primarycare.nhsestates.gov.uk/secure/content.asp
Department of Health Estates and Facilities have
set up a new website which aims to encourage the
creation of high quality, stress-free environments for the delivery of
care. The website identifies the key considerations and actions for
those involved in the planning, briefing and design of primary and
social care premises, and gives some guidelines on funding,
procurement and design. It replaces HBN 36 - 'Local healthcare
facilities' and the 'SFA' ('Red Book').
Public Health Advocacy Toolkit
http://advocacy.phaii.org/
The Public Health Alliance for the island of
Ireland has developed a Public Health Advocacy Toolkit to help those
working to improve health to think through, plan and undertake
advocacy work. The toolkit provides a model for the advocacy process
and can be used to identify training needs, point to resources for
developing skills and competencies and a framework for action. The
toolkit is available both as a printed and web based resource.
Self-Assessment Tool for Commissioners
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_073897
The Department
of Health have produced a self-assessment tool for commissioners which
is designed to assist PCTs and their partners in assessing their
knowledge and capability to commission children’s and young people’s
services.
Smoking Cessation Costing Template
http://www.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=424907
The National Institute for Health and Clinical
Excellence (NICE) has created a costing tool, ‘Smoking cessation:
costing template (impact of stop smoking legislation)’, to
calculate the potential increase in activity in stop smoking services
that may arise as a result of the stop smoking legislation beginning
on 1
st July 2007.
Telegraph Hospital Guide
http://telegraph.drfoster.co.uk/
The Telegraph newspaper website has produced a
hospital guide in association with Doctor Foster Research. The guide
aims to help members of the public find out more about hospitals, both
locally and throughout the UK. The guide covers acute hospitals with
more than 300 beds, some smaller acute hospitals with specialist
services, and private hospitals with more than 30 beds. Hospitals can
be searched for by name or by postcode.
Tools to Help Organizations Create, Share, and
Use Research
http://www.chsrf.ca/tools
The Canadian Health Services Research Foundation
(CHRF) has created a free online database of resources for health
services organizations that wish to use research better. The database
contains resources identified and developed by the CHRF and others,
aiming to provide a “one-stop shop” for research tools (including
strategies, stories, frameworks, evaluation plans) that can help
health system managers, policy makers, and their organisations
acquire, appraise, adapt and apply relevant research in their work.
Tuberculosis Prevention and Treatment Toolkit
http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/idcplg?IdcService=GET_FILE&dID=142069&Rendition=Web
The Department
of Health has published ‘Tuberculosis prevention and treatment: a
toolkit for planning, commissioning and delivering high-quality
services in England’. This toolkit aims to assist the NHS with
implementing the TB action plan ‘Stopping Tuberculosis in England’
by enabling PCT commissioners to plan and commission high-quality TB
services for their local population, and monitor their delivery. The
toolkit sets out a framework for assessing local needs, and
identifying how services can be best provided to meet those needs. It
also contains models of best practice aimed at TB service providers,
including laboratories and public health teams.
You Can Stop Smoking
http://www.canstopsmoking.com/
NHS Health Scotland have launched a website to
help members of the public give up smoking by providing access to
information, tips and advice on how to stop. The website also
contains guidance for health professionals on how to support those
giving up smoking. There is also access to the research that led to
the ban on smoking in public places in Scotland and links to
publications and other resources.
UPDATED/REVISED WEBSITES
BMJ Clinical Evidence
http://www.clinicalevidence.co.uk/
BMJ Clinical
Evidence has extended its service to cover supportive and palliative
care. This includes a broad range of clinical problems including
constipation in people prescribed opioids, delirium in the dying
patient and nausea and vomiting in people with cancer and other
chronic illnesses.
DARE: Database of Abstracts of Reviews of
Effects
http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/crd/crddatabases.htm#DARE
The Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) at
the University of York, who produce and maintain the DARE database,
have announced that the number of quality assessed systematic reviews
added to the database will increase due to additional resources agreed
with the Department of Health, taking effect from October 2007.
Currently over 600 abstracts are added to DARE each year. The
additional capacity will enable DARE to keep up to date with the
rising number of available reviews.
The Information Centre
http://www.ic.nhs.uk/
The Information Centre has launched its new
website which aims to make information on the site easily accessible
for all users. The changes include topic-based navigation, improved
site search, and a dedicated publication search.
National electronic Library for Health
The National electronic Library for Health (NeLH)
website closed on 31
st March 2007. All content from the
NeLH is being migrated to the National Library for Health NLH (http://www.library.nhs.uk/).
There is a temporary redirect from the old NeLH site to the NLH.
National Library for Health
http://www.library.nhs.uk/
The National
Library for Health (NLH) website has been upgraded to include some new
features such as:
The Week
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Bulletins/theweek/index.htm
‘The Week’ has
replaced the Department of Health Chief Executive Bulletin. ‘The
Week’ is published every Thursday and provides “need-to-know” news for
chief executives and their teams.
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