Native American health/public health resources

American Indian/Alaska Native Health Resource Sampler
http://nnlm.gov/pnr/samplers/natamer.html
List of resources relating to American Indian/Alaska Native Health compiled by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Pacific Northwest Region (NN/LM PNR) staff. Resources are organized under general and cultural resources, government resources, some traditional medicine resources, other resources, Native American mailing lists, and information resources from the National Library of Medicine.
[Seems to have been replaced by http://www.tribalconnections.org/ as of 3/28/2008]

MEDLINEplus: Native-American Health (National Library of Medicine)
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/nativeamericanhealth.html
Any list of resources from the National Library of Medicine is always of high quality and useful. Resources are listed under the following categories: Latest News, From the National Institutes of Health, Clinical Trials, Specific Conditions, Prevention/Screening, Nutrition, Research, Directories, Organizations, Law and Policy, Statistics, Women and Children. To do a PubMed search on Native-American Health simply click the "Search MEDLINE/PubMed for recent research articles on Native-American Health." This search has been pre-compiled so that you do not need to create the search yourself. It will retrieve the most recent research articles.

Health and Nonprofit Corporations
http://www.hss.state.ak.us/dph/phis/nrc/native.htm
A listing of the various health and nonprofit corporations in Alaska.

Alaska Native Health Board
http://www.anhb.org/
The Alaska Native Health Board (ANHB), established in 1968, "is recognized as the statewide voice on Alaska Native health issues. The purpose of the Alaska Native Health Board is to promote the spiritual, physical, mental, social, and cultural well-being and pride of Alaska Native people. ANHB is a 23-member board entity, consisting of one elected or selected representative of the Board of Directors or health committees of Alaska's Native regional health organizations and independent tribal public Law 93-638 compactors/contractors. The Health Directors of the regional health organizations serve as technical advisors to ANHB." This information-rich site has content on a variety of topics including child abuse and neglect, epidemiology, HIV/AIDS prevention, solid waste management and tobacco cessation programs. Links, publications and ANHB contacts, news and priorities complete the site.

Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium
http://www.anthc.org/
The Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium "is a nonprofit, statewide organization that provides a range of medical and community health services for more than 120,000 Alaska Natives. It is part of the Alaska Tribal Health System, which is owned and managed by the 229 federally recognized tribes in Alaska and by their respective regional health organizations." Look for information about patient and community services, jobs and training, and links to related resources.

Bureau of Indian Affairs (U.S.)
http://www.doi.gov/bureau-indian-affairs.html
List of resources of interest to Native Americans including cultural Web sites, declarations, government, inter-Tribal organizations, and environment Web sites. Unfortunately the site has been temporarily closed down at this time due to the Cobell Litigation. When the site is available it is worth visiting for its content.

Indian Health Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
http://www.ihs.gov/
The Indian Health Service (IHS), an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, "is responsible for providing federal health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives. The provision of health services to members of federally-recognized tribes grew out of the special government-to-government relationship between the federal government and Indian tribes. The IHS currently provides health services to approximately 1.5 million American Indians and Alaska Natives who belong to more than 557 federally recognized tribes in 35 states." This content-rich site offers viewers an introduction to the agency, to the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), to clinical practice guidelines, to fact sheets, to health care information and to Medicaid and Medicare information. Of special interest are the links to the Native Health History Database (NHHD), "a centralized, nationally accessible, computerized information database containing complete bibliographic information and abstracts on historical Native American and Alaska Native medical/health research reports covering a time period from 1652 to 1970" and to the Native Health Research Database (NHRD), a joint venture between the Indian Health Service and the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center Library. The Native Health Research Database "is a database of resource documents and other materials from approximately 1970 to the present time for tribal health professionals and health care practitioners working with Native American populations." Those providing health promotion services to Native Americans will find the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention link useful for information on primary prevention focus areas and on the work of the Preventive Task Force.
Native Health Database

Public Health Competencies

Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals (Tool)
http://trainingfinder.org/competencies/
This Web page links you to work done on the Competencies Feedback Project by the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice. The most recent list of Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals, revised early in 2004 is accessible by clicking on the Competencies list. View the list of core competencies with and without the skill levels and by the Essential Public Health Services in PDF and in HTML.

PHPPO (CDC) Listing of Discipline-Specific Competency Sets for Professional Health Workers
http://www.phppo.cdc.gov/owpp/mtgwrkgrp091201.asp
Linking page providing access to links to core and discipline-specific competency sets.

Competencies for Public Health Workers: A Collection of Competency Sets of Public Health-Related Occupations and Professions (PDF)
http://www.phppo.cdc.gov/owpp/docs/compgrid0829.pdf
Extensive collection of competency sets covering Core - Basic Public Health competencies (addresses the essential services of public health), New Topical Areas competencies (emergency response, genomics, law), Functional Areas competencies (leadership, management, supervisory, secretarial), Discipline-Specific competencies (professional, technical, entry-level, student), and Other Topical Areas (MCH, STD, etc.).

Facts and Research/Workforce Capacity (PHF). Revised Jun 28, 2004.
http://www.phf.org/infrastructure/phfpage.php?page_id=33&pp_id=21
From the Public Health Foundation's Public Health Infrastructure Resource Center comes this list of top and general resources providing facts and research about the public health workforce.

The Future of the Public's Health in the 21st Century (2002)
Board on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (HPDP), Institute of Medicine (IOM). (Appendix) E. Competencies for Public Health Workers: A Collection of Competency Sets for Public Health-Related Occupations and Professions. National Academies Press.
http://books.nap.edu/books/030908704X/html/423.html
The Annual Public Health Workforce Development Meeting developed this table of competency sets of public health-related occupations and professions for its June 2001 meeting. It was revised January 2003.

The Public Health Workforce: an Agenda for the 21st Century. A Report of the Public Health Functions Project. [n.d.] 61 pages
http://www.health.gov/phfunctions/pubhlth.pdf
The Subcommittee … "is charged with providing a profile of the current public health workforce and making projections regarding the workforce of the 21st century." …[T]he Subcommittee should examine the current and future shortfalls in the public health workforce, looking broadly at Federal, State and local levels, in public health departments as well as mental health, substance abuse, and environmental health agencies and at the emerging need for public health competencies in managed care systems, health plans, and in other governmental agencies such as departments of agriculture, education, and justice. The Subcommittee should also address training and education issues including curriculum development for graduate training in public health and ongoing training and development activities to ensure a competent workforce to perform the essential functions of public health now and in the future." The report examines the context and future directions of the public health workforce. Included is information on leadership issues, curriculum development and the importance of distance learning.

The Public Health Workforce Enumeration 2000
http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/nursing/chphsr/enum2000.pdf
This document, prepared for the Health Resources and Services Administration by the Center for Health Policy at the Columbia University School of Nursing, is a valuable resource for "providing a current best estimate of the size and composition of the public health workforce at the local, state and national levels. It includes workers in official agencies and voluntary organizations.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT: Key to Public Health Infrastructure, by Kristine Gebbie. (Power Point Presentation).
http://www.astdhpphe.org/PlanforSuccess/files/002_gebbie.ppt
This PowerPoint presentation is a good accompaniment to the document, The Public Health Workforce Enumeration 2000.

Workforce development and e-learning

Public Health Workforce Development - TRAIN - TrainingFinder Real-time Affiliate Integrated Network (PHF). July 25, 2004.
http://www.phf.org/phworkforce.htm
The TrainingFinder Real-time Affiliate Integrated Network (TRAIN) "is a unique web-based learning management solution for public health organizations that need to rapidly increase their training capacity by creating a searchable clearinghouse of on-site (classroom) training and distance learning opportunities available within their jurisdictions and across the country." The TRAIN system "integrates national, state, and local public health continuing education and training initiatives into a coordinated, nationwide learning system, building on an expanded version of the TrainingFinder.org web-based infrastructure." Includes bioterrorism preparedness courses. The site for national training links is TRAINNational <http://www.train.org/DesktopShell.aspx>. Also of interest for public health professionals are the training materials available as books, print-based self study courses, video courses, videotapes and other learning content. These are available from the Public Health Foundation's Training Resource Center <http://bookstore.phf.org/>.

TrainingFinder.org - Resources for Course Developers
http://www.trainingfinder.org/user.cgi?action=display_resources
Valuable set of links for those developing online learning. Major section links include: General, Development of Distance Learning, Delivery of Distance Learning, Evaluation of Distance Learning. Also available is a Message Board where documents and tips on how to develop, deliver, and evaluate distance learning can be shared.

Who Will Keep the Public Healthy? Educating Public Health Professionals for the 21st Century (2003)
Board on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (HPDP), Institute of Medicine (IOM) National Academy Press.
http://books.nap.edu/books/030908542X/html/index.html
Published by the National Academy Press this book covers the following six topics: 1. Introduction; 2. History and Current Status of Public Health Education in the United States; 3. The Future of Public Health Education;
4. Future Role of Schools of Public Health in Educating Public Health Professionals for the 21st Century; 5. The Need for Public Health Education in Other Programs and Schools; and 6. Public Health Agencies: Their Roles in Educating Public Health Professionals. Eight appendices. Numerous mentions of the role and importance to public health practitioners of distance learning.

Workshops-in-a-Box (facilitated distance learning modules) CDC
http://www.phppo.cdc.gov/nltn/wibs_info.aspx
List of modules for chemical and biological preparedness. Training requires students, a qualified facilitator, a copy machine, and depending on the module selected: a 35-mm slide projector (or a VCR and TV monitor), and an audiotape player. Contact the National Laboratory Training Network at (312) 793-3306 or 1-800-536-NLTN for additional information on these training modules.

Emerging Diseases: Mad Cow Disease

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in a Dairy Cow --- Washington State, 2003, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 52(53):1280-1285, January 9, 2004.
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5253a2.htm
This Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report article announced the single case of BSE in Washington State in a downer cow imported from Canada.

Case of BSE in the United States: Chronology of Events (USDA)
http://www.usda.gov/news/releases/2003/12/bsechronology.htm
Unsure of how the outbreak of "mad cow disease" unfolded? Visit this chronology of events beginning with the arrival of the non-ambulatory dairy cow at the slaughter plant on December 9, 2003 and ending with the discovery January 21 of another animal that is part of a group of 17 heifers originally dispersed from the Canadian source herd in August 2001.

Animal Health. Washington State Department of Agriculture.
http://agr.wa.gov/FoodAnimal/AnimalFeed/BSE.htm
The Washington State Department of Agriculture created a Web site to answer the public's questions about BSE. Topics include a description of BSE, preventing the spread of BSE, BSE and food safety, BSE and Livestock feed, BSE and human health, BSE in Canada, protecting pets from BSE, a FAQ about BSE and links to related resources on BSE.

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CDC)
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/cjd/
An extensive list of articles and related information and resources on BSE and CJD from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Foreign Agriculture Service.
http://www.fas.usda.gov/dlp/BSE/bse.html
The purpose of this page is to provide sources of information on the effects of BSE on trade. Provided are links to main BSE pages for various government and organization sites, as well as links to related documents such as special reports, regulations, and announcements. Major links, updated as information is available, cover Canada, the European Union and the United States. Types of information include press releases and reports, technical briefings, Federal Register Notices, guidance for exporters, BSE Update statements, BSE Risk Assessment Results, and guidelines. BSE government and organization information sites in the areas listed above.

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in Washington State: Information and Updates
http://www.fas.usda.gov/bse04.htm
Long list of statements, technical briefings, press releases and other documents relevant to BSE in Washington State.

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) - World Health Organization, Communicable Disease Surveillance and Response (CSR)
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/bse/en/
This page from WHO provides a succinct description of what BSE is and how it is transmitted with additional links to related resources.

Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), UK -BSE
http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/bse/index.html
BSE was first recognized and defined in the United Kingdom in November 1986. It subsequently spread until it affected all parts of the country to a greater or lesser extent. DEFRA offers background information on BSE, on its control and eradication, on export and trade, public health issues, publications, statistics and on the research that is being done on the disease.

National Electronic Disease Surveillance System
http://www.cdc.gov/nedss/
The National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS) “is an initiative that promotes the use of data and information system standards to advance the development of efficient, integrated, and interoperable surveillance systems at federal, state and local levels. It is a major component of the Public Health Information Network (PHIN).” This site will advance the coordination of surveillance of disease outbreaks at the local, state and federal levels. View the NEDSS architecture, data models and vocabularies and examine the base system and specifications. Information on security standards and procedures as well as NEDSS project information can be viewed on the site.

Performance Standards

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Framework for Program Evaluation in Public Health. MMWR 1999;48(No. RR-11).
http://www.cdc.gov/eval/framework.htm
Effective program evaluation "is a systematic way to improve and account for public health actions that involves procedures that are useful, feasible, ethical, and accurate. The framework guides public health professionals in their use of program evaluation. It is a practical, nonprescriptive tool, designed to summarize and organize essential elements of program evaluation. The framework comprises steps in program evaluation practice and standards for effective program evaluation." This Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report from the CDC's Evaluation Working Group covers a variety of topics including how to assign value, steps and standards, applying the framework and available formats. A nice graphic provides an overview of the framework.

ASTHO National Public Health Performance Standards
http://www.astho.org/?template=performance_measurement.html
The National Public Health Performance Standards “are optimal measurable standards that public health systems can use to assess the delivery of essential public health services. The primary goal is to promote quality improvement, while focusing on systems performance and capacity. use of these instruments can result in stronger connections among public health system partners, greater awareness of the interconnectedness of public health activities, and the identification of strengths and weaknesses that can be addressed through improvement efforts.” Links to performance assessment instruments for the state, local and international level and to CDC’s National Public Health Performance Standards Program.

Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP) (NACCHO)
http://www.naccho.org/topics/infrastructure/MAPP.cfm
Registered public health professionals can obtain access to the MAPP protocol for use in their health departments to improve the health of their communities.

Assessment Protocol for Excellence in Public Health (APEXPH) (NACCHO)
http://www.naccho.org/topics/infrastructure/APEXPH.cfm
APEXPH was developed in the early 1990s “to be used voluntarily by local health officials to assess the organization and management of the health department, provide a framework for working with community members and other organizations in assessing the health status of the community, and establish the leadership role of the health department in the community. APEXPH is a flexible tool and its concepts can be easily integrated with other planning tools.” This site describes the tool.

National Public Health Performance Standards Program (NPHPSP) (NACCHO)
http://www.naccho.org/topics/infrastructure/NPHPSP.cfm
The National Public Health Performance Standards Program (NPHPSP) “is a collaborative effort to enhance the Nation’s public health systems. Seven national public health organizations (APHA, ASTHO, CDC, NACCHO, NALBOH, PHF, and NNPHI) have partnered to develop national performance standards for state and local public health systems. The goal of the program is to improve the quality of public health practice and performance of public health systems.” Examine the available program resources, publications and multimedia and read the news and calendar highlights of the program.

Turning Point Project. The Guidebook for Performance Measurement, by Patricia Lichiello. December 1999.
http://www.rwjf.org/research/files/TurningPointPerformanceMeasure.pdf
This excellent publication by Ms Lichiello describes what performance measurement is, discusses why it is important to measure performance, lists the key components required to design an effective performance measurement process, and outlines how to report results. A Glossary of terms is provided for reference.

National Public Health Performance Standards Program, CDC
http://www.cdc.gov/od/ocphp/nphpsp/
The NPHPS Program “is a National Partnership initiative that has developed National Public Health Performance Standards for state and local public health systems and for public health governing bodies. This site provides information on the NPHPS Program, the National Partners, and the resources available to support performance assessment and systems improvement. NPHPS Program and National Partner staffs offer technical assistance, performance assessment analysis reports, and systems planning services to users of our assessment instruments.” Performance instruments and an extensive tool kit are available for use. The tool kit includes a sample report, videos and presentations.

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 Web site 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.” A good glossary of terms and other helpful tools make this site worth a visit.

National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC)
http://www.guideline.gov/
The National Guideline Clearinghouse™ (NGC™) is "a public resource for evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. NGC is an initiative of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NGC was originally created by AHRQ in partnership with the American Medical Association and the American Association of Health Plans (now America's Health Insurance Plans [AHIP])." Get news, access to a variety of resources including bioterrorism guidelines, a discussion list, FAQs, a glossary and other guidelines available in their guideline archive and through the search engine.

Performance Standards in Public Health Systems: The Washington State Standards Discussion Draft July 18, 2002. Prepared for the PHIP Standards Committee by MCPP Healthcare Consulting And PRR, Inc.
http://www.doh.wa.gov/PHIP/documents/PerfMgmt/material/PerfStdsPHSys.pdf
This PDF document defines performance measurement, offers a range of approaches to measuring system performance, describes how performance standards have been applied to public health nationally and describes the application to Washington State. Washington State's use of the evaluation results in the future is also described.

Building and using community coalitions to address public health issues

Building and Maintaining Community Coalitions On Behalf of Children, Youth and Families, by Joanne Keith, Ph.D, et al. March 1998.
http://crs.uvm.edu/nnco/collab/buildcoal1.html
This project report was written for the Community Coalitions in Action, Institute for Children, Youth and Families, Michigan State University. The online version is divided into three sections. The report documents examples of collaborative efforts in Michigan which addressed the needs of children and youth in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Current data is offered on the status of children and youth in Michigan. A framework for understanding community collaborations is described and an in-depth review of thirteen collaborations is provided as they demonstrate best practices.

Strength in Numbers: A Guide to Building Community Coalitions. August 2003.
http://www.communitycatalyst.org/doc_store/publications/strength_in_numbers_a_guide_to_building_community_coalitions_aug03.pdf
Community Catalyst "is a national advocacy organization that builds consumer and community participation in the shaping of our health system to ensure quality, affordable health care for all." Three major sections make up this 24-page PDF document: I. Introduction to Community Coalitions; II. Organizing a Community Coalition; and III. Factors that Affect Coalition and two appendices make up the bulk of the document.

Community Building Tools
http://ctb.ku.edu/tools/
Over 200 sections of practical and detailed information about how to do the work of promoting community health and development can be found at the Community Toolbox.

Health Educator's Bookshelf - Community Mobilization
http://www3.doh.wa.gov/here/bookshelf/HERE_BookshelfListing.aspx?CatID=2&Name=Community%20Mobilization
Set of references to books on community mobilization from the Health Education Resource Exchange (H.E.R.E. in Washington) database.

Geographic Information Systems

GIS and Public Health, National Center for Health Statitics
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/gis.htm
GIS and Public Health is "a Web site designed to provide information on GIS, or Geographic Information Systems, at NCHS and in the larger public health community. On this page, you can access current or past reports of Public Health GIS News and Information, selected maps, a calendar of GIS and related events, and links to related sites."

Public Health GIS News and Information
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about/otheract/gis/gis_publichealthinfo.htm
Public Health GIS News and Information "is a bimonthly, electronic report "dedicated to scientific excellence and advancement in disease control and prevention through the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology." The report, which began in 1994, "provides timely information on a variety of GIS topics, including technical and outreach assistance; notification of relevant professional meetings, events, and conferences; communication from GIS users; Web developments; and public health GIS literature."

GIS in Public Health, GISLounge
http://gislounge.com/ll/publichealth.shtml
This sub-page of a larger GIS site provides "[l]eads on articles, research and tools for the application of GIS to public health issues. Find out why health organizations find GIS to be an invaluable tool."

Improving Public Health Through Geographical Information Systems: An Instructional Guide to Major Concepts and Their Implementation. Web Version 1.0 December, 1997.
http://www.uiowa.edu/~geog/health/
This online course, also available on CD-ROM, shows the key steps in performing a detailed analysis of health data using GIS. A reference library, GIS lab and lecture hall with two lectures is makes thye role of GIS in public health more understandable.

GIS for Health and Human Services, ESRI.
http://www.esri.com/industries/health/
ESRI is one of the many GIS software applications on the market. This page links to demonstrations of how GIS can be used in public health, hospitals and managed care. News, publications and success stories are available for reading.

Geographic Information Systems in Public Health, ATSDR
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/gis/conference98/gisindex.html
This is a collection of news, broadcasts, conference proceedings and links to public health uses of GIS assembled by ATSDR staff. The links section is quite useful with links to commercial and non-commercial data, county, federal and U.S. GIS resources, software, map servers and Arc View resources.

GIS Portal
http://www.gisportal.com/
Large list of sites assembled on seventeen different topical areas including jobs, data and software, breaking news, services, Federal, State and Local sites, and on GPS, remote sensing and space.

Public Health Mapping, World Health Organization, Communicable Disease Surveillance & Response (CSR)
http://www.who.int/csr/mapping/en/
Describes GIS and public health mapping, GIS tools, country support, how mapping is used in the World Health Organization. A list of information resources includes links to services, GIS mapping activities, Internet discussion groups, publications and articles.

Injury Maps, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/maps/
Injury Maps, CDC Injury Center's interactive mapping system, "gives you access to the geographic distribution of injury-related mortality rates in the the United States. Injury Maps allows you to create county-level and state-level maps of age-adjusted mortality rates for the entire United States and for individual states."

EPA EnviroMapper
http://www.epa.gov/enviro/html/em/index.html
Use EnviroMapper and related GIS applications to learn more about the environmental conditions and features of your community. Type in your ZIP code and select what to map from a variety of topics such as surface water, EPA-regulated facilities or Superfund Cleanup Sites.

Resources for Creating Public Health Maps, Centers for Disease Control
http://www.cdc.gov/epiinfo/maps.htm
Extensive list of resources for public health GIS professionals. Find data (demographic, health outcomes, environmental and health risk exposure, geostatistics and spatial analysis), geographic boundaries, public health and GIS overviews, global positioning system (GPS), images, online atlases, conferences and symposia and software. and additional sites. GIS consultants with experience in public health and Web references complete the set of links.

Maptitude: A GIS for Public Health Practice and Research, by Richard E. Hoskins. August 17, 2004.
http://www.caliper.com/Maptitude/publichealth/default.htm
Brief description of why a state public health epidemiologist uses Maptitude. Maptitude is a GIS application with a strong public health emphasis.

International Journal of Health Geographics
http://www.ij-healthgeographics.com/home
This online journal publishes "papers on the application of geographic information systems and science in public health, healthcare, health services, and health resources." The International Journal of Health Geographics is published by BioMed Central. Access to the articles is open and free.

Geriatrics and aging populations

State of Wyoming, Aging Division
http://wdhfs.state.wy.us/aging/
The Wyoming Department of Health, Aging Division "exists to provide a flexible and responsive continuum of services that enables Wyoming's senior citizens to age-in-place with maximum dignity and independence." Information is divided into three large categories: About Aging, For Providers, and For Seniors. The About Aging link moves readers to staff, services, projects and to a calendar of events. Providers will find articles, links of interest and information resources. Seniors will also find relevant articles and links. A FAQ and links to government agencies make accessing relevant government information easy.

State and Area Agencies on Aging
http://www.aoa.gov/eldfam/How_To_Find/Agencies/Agencies.asp
This alphabetical roster includes contact name, address, and phone/fax number for State Agencies on Aging for the United States and its territories. From the U.S. Administration on Aging, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Administration on Aging, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
http://www.aoa.gov/
The Administration on Aging (AoA) is a federal agency devoted exclusively to the issues and concerns of older Americans. The site is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of a wide variety of topics, programs and services related to aging. Older individuals, caregivers, community service providers, researchers, or students will find valuable information provided in a user-friendly way. Public health practitioners will find much of interest here from healthy aging content to nutrition and exercise. AoA has a variety of grant programs that they promote via their Web site. The site is also available In: Spanish.

Eldercare Locator - A Way To Find Community Assistance for Seniors
http://www.eldercare.gov/Eldercare/Public/Home.asp
This sub-page of the U.S. Administration on Aging "explains usage of a nationwide directory assistance service guiding seniors and caregivers to local services such as respite care, housing, and legal assistance and provides a toll-free number." Contains valuable and current information for those providing care services to the elderly.

MEDLINEplus: Seniors' Health Topics
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/seniorshealth.html
Visit this National Library of Medicine's MedlinePlus Web site for an extensive list of links to resources on topics ranging from accidents to wrinkles. All resources are examined for quality and correctness.

AARP
http://www.aarp.org/
Even if you are not old enough to be a member of AARP (formerly called American Association of Retired Persons) the site is a treasure-trove of information about health and wellness and about other issues of interest to the elderly. Learn how to manage stress, about walking programs and about other ways of exercising to keep healthy. For those learning to use computers to access health information on the Internet, the section on computers and technology contains how-to guides, software, gadget and book reviews to make the learning process easier. Many policy and advocacy issues are discussed. Publications may be downloaded for offline reading.

AgeSource Worldwide
http://research.aarp.org/general/agesource_home.html
AgeSource Worldwide is a new online database produced by AARP. Search it free of charge for information on clearinghouses, databases, libraries, directories, statistical resources, bibliographies and reading lists, texts, and Web “metasites” focusing on aging or closely allied subjects. Topics covered range from Alzheimer's disease to wills and estate planning. Most of the information resources are located in North America and Europe. Navigation and help pages are available in French and Spanish as well as English. Search by subject, country or region of the world, or by type and language of the information resource—or by some combination of these—or browse the listing of topics to see if an equivalent topic is available.