Introduction toMedlinePlus

Jamie DwyerUniversity of Illinois at ChicagoVisiting Assistant Information Services Librarian

Objectives

•Discuss Health Education & Health Information

• Introduce & Explore MedlinePlus

Health Education•Awareness of health topics

•Understanding of medical conditions

• Limited time with (or access to) health professionals

Evaluating Information• What makes you trust a website?

• MedlinePlus Guide to Healthy Web Surfing: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthywebsurfing.html

• Assess: Currency, Relevancy, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose

Health Information ResourcesTop 5 most popular health websites:

http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/health-websites

What is MedlinePlus?

• Free, trusted, quality health information for over 900 topics • From the National Library of Medicine (National Institute of Health)• Links to a variety of resources• Videos, quizzes, and interactive tutorials• No advertising!

Who should use MedlinePlus?• Patients• Family & friends• Consumers

• 5th-8th grade reading level (“Easy to Read” and “Interactive Tutorials”)• Many items in Spanish & other languages

When to use MedlinePlus?

•Look up a medical term or condition•Explore a health topic•Get drug information•Find trustworthy organizations

Why use MedlinePlus?•Free, trusted health information following quality guidelines

•Continuous review/updates•Links to over 35,000 additional authoritative resources

Where to use MedlinePlus?•Website is available 24/7 •Access on a computer, laptop, tablet, or smart phone at public libraries & community centers with internet access

•Mobile version: http://m.medlineplus.gov/•Regular version:

http://www.medlineplus.gov/

How to use MedlinePlus?

•Browse by health topic

•Search for health information

Homepage

Search box: enter terms to search all MedlinePlus content

View by category or browse alphabetically. Over 900 topics!

Browse alphabetically for prescription & over-the-counter medicines as well as herbs & supplements

Videos, interactive tutorials, quizzes, calculators, and games

Homepage

Medical DictionaryLook up definitions of medical terms.

Popular SearchesClick word to view related information, or “See more” for the top 100 search terms Search Cloud.

The bigger the word, the more times it has been searched.

Featured Site

Health topic of interest

About Your Health

Health topics of interest to specific populations• General• Seniors• Men• Women• Children

NIHSeniorHealth & Clinical Trials

Link to NIHSeniorHealth.gov

Information for older adultsLink to ClinicalTrials.gov

Information on drug & treatment studies

Directories

Find libraries, health professionals, services & facilities.

Organizations

Alphabetical by name

Alphabetical by topic

Medical EncyclopediaArticles & images

Health News & Stay Connected

New health information

Sign up for email updates on health topics

MagazineRead issues of NIH MedlinePlus: The Magazine

Easy to Read5th-8th grade reading level

Multiple LanguagesTrusted resources in various languages

Browse by language or topic

Sample Search

Sample Search Results

Sample Search Results

All results

• Health Topics• Videos and

Tutorials• Medical

Encyclopedia• External Health

Links

Sample Search Filter Options

Filter results by Type or Keyword

Health Topic Sample

• Summary

• Medical Encyclopedia

• Related Topics

Health Topic Sample• Basics

Learn MoreMultimediaResearchReference ShelfFor You

• OverviewsLatest NewsDirectoriesetc.

• Languages

Thank you!Jamie DwyerLibrarianjamied@uic.eduhttp://library.uic.edu