MedlinePlus magazine

The National Library of Medicine has posted the 2nd issue of the MedlinePlus magazine, targeted at consumers. The site notes, "NIH MedlinePlus , the magazine, is the free, trusted consumer guide to the vast array of authoritative online health and medical information at www.medlineplus.gov. Published four times a year, the magazine showcases the NIH’s latest medical research and healthcare information."

This issue (PDF, 2.7 MB) features Mary Tyler Moore and her fight with type 1 diabetes, as well as covering the flu, arthritis, vaccine development news, and the Sister Study of breast cancer in families.

You can subscribe to the magazine for free (PDF) and also join the Friends of the National Library of Medicine.

Update:
Donald A.B. Lindberg, M.D., Director of the National Library of Medicine, regularly records a Director's Comments podcast, and today's discusses the MedlinePlus magazine (mp3 file, text transcript).

Self-care

Mary Chimato of medlibrarian.net posted today about a new handout from the American College of Emergency Physicians to aid patients in making decisions regarding how to decide when a symptom etc is severe or serious enough to warrant a trip to the emergency room.

The American Academy of Family Physicians also has a self-care decision making tool on their familydoctor.org site, with simple decision trees organized by key presenting symptom.

The medical literature includes an increasing volume of discussion about how to improve individuals' health and utilization of health care resources through self-care or self-management strategies (a few key Medical Subject Headings below), covering a wide variety of disease-focused and wellness- focused strategies and representing all age groups.

Some examples:
- Bodenheimer T. Planned visits to help patients self-manage chronic conditions. Am Fam Physician. 2005 Oct 15;72(8):1454, 1456.
- Sarkar U, Fisher L, Schillinger D. Is self-efficacy associated with diabetes self-management across race/ethnicity and health literacy? Diabetes Care. 2006 Apr;29(4):823-9.
- Sherman KJ, Cherkin DC, Erro J, Miglioretti DL, Deyo RA. Comparing yoga, exercise, and a self-care book for chronic low back pain: a randomized, controlled trial. Ann Intern Med. 2005 Dec 20;143(12):849-56.
- Herxheimer A. Helping patients take responsibility for their own health. Ann Intern Med. 2001 Jul 3;135(1):51-2.

MeSH terms: consumer participation, self care, patient participation