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CHRC News
Vol. 3, No. 4, July 2001
Introduction
It always seems to happen on the day before
a holiday. Your patron is not looking for the
American Heart Association cookbook
(New York : Ballantine, 1994) but for
recipes and information about less-
frequently encountered dietary problems
requiring specialized resources. In Medical
Conditions and Special Dietary Needs, we
have highlighted selected web sites and print
sources to assist you in finding this
information.
In the News
MBLC Issues New CHRC Contract
We are very pleased to announce that for the
second time, Treadwell Library of the
Massachusetts General Hospital has been
awarded the contract to serve as the
Consumer Health Reference Center (CHRC)
for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The contract with the Massachusetts Board
of Library Commissioners (MBLC),
provides funding for two years with
opportunity for two renewals over a five
year period. This means that Treadwell
Library will continue to serve as the
Consumer Health Reference Center library
for members of the regional library systems
until at least June 30, 2003. We at Treadwell
would like to take this opportunity to say a
sincere and hearty "thank you" to those of
you who have used the CHRC services and
expressed your satisfaction to the MBLC.
We are delighted to be able to continue to
offer this service to all member libraries.
Upcoming CHRC/Gale Health &
Wellness Resource Center Workshops
The CHRC will join with Gale Group
representatives to offer combined workshops
covering CHRC resources and the new Gale
Health and Wellness Resource Center
database on the following dates:
? October 15, 1:00-3:45pm, WMRLS -
Hatfield
? October 17, 1:00-3:45pm, MWRLS -
Waltham
? October 23, 1:00-3:45pm, CMRLS -
Shrewsbury
? October 25, 1:00-3:45pm, Boston
Region - Boston Public Library
Mark your calendars now, and watch for
flyers from the MBLC, set to arrive early in
September. Keep in mind that members of a
regional library system may attend
workshops in any location.
CHRC at WMRLS Basic Reference Series
CHRC will be joining with the Statewide
Legal Reference Service (SLRS) and
MassBedrock on Tuesday, October 17 in
Hatfield at the Western Regional Office,
and Thursday, October 18 at the Lee
Library, to offer joint workshops in the
WMRLS Basic Reference Training Series
for library directors in towns under 10,000.
Both sessions will run from 10:00am to
1:00pm. Contact the Western Regional
Office at 413-247-9306 for further details.
CHRC Web Site
http://www.mgh.harvard.edu/library/chrcind
ex.html
The CHRC web site has undergone some
design changes that we hope you will like.
The site has always been ADA (American
with Disabilities Act) compliant but now
carries the "Bobby Approved" icon as proof
of this. As part of our new contract with the
state we aim to improve the organization and
content of the site, so please share with us
any ideas or comments you may have.
The CHRC News is now archived in PDF
format, making it easy for you to print extra
copies. A text version of the CHRC News
will also be available to comply with ADA
requirements.
Special Health Library Coalition Meeting
Martha Stone, Treadwell Library's
Coordinator for Reference Services,
presented "Strategies for Finding Health
Information in Languages Other Than
English" at the Special Health Library
Coalition (SHLC)'s quarterly meeting in
April, 2001. Topics covered included ways
to evaluate web sites when you are not
familiar with the language; use of Google's
Advanced mode to search for non-English
language health information, at
http://www.google.com/advanced_search;
consumer health web sites in non-English
languages, such as Yahoo in Spanish,
http://espanol.dir.yahoo.com/Salud/, and the
extensive polyglot site from the NSW (New
South Wales, Australia) Multicultural Health
Communication Service, available at
http://mhcs.health.nsw.gov.au/health-public-
affairs/mhcs/index.html.
Web sites in the News
CAPHIS
http://caphis.mlanet.org
The newly redesigned web site of the
Consumer and Patient Health
Information Section (CAPHIS) of the
Medical Library Association contains links
to carefully selected "web sites you can
trust.? Click on Link to the CAPHIS Top
100 and arrow down to Total List of all
Recommended Web Sites to find
http://yoursurgery.com/index.cfm, a
multimedia database of operative procedures
designed to educate consumers about their
surgery, using diagrams and animation. The
CAPHIS web site also includes much
collection development information ranging
from materials suitable for a small public
library to specialized collection development
bibliographies for areas such as pediatrics.
Closing the Gap
http://www.omhrc.gov/OMH/sidebar/omh-
publications.htm
Closing the Gap is a newsletter from the
Office of Minority Health of the U. S.
Department of Health and Human
Services. Click on Archived CTG Issues
for past issues, available full text to 1995.
The February/March issue covers topics
such as standards for cultural and linguistic
competence in health care, a bibliography of
cultural competency assessment tools, and
more.
Health Information on the Internet
http://jama.ama-
assn.org/issues/v285n20/rfull/joc02274.html
With its subtitle "Accessibility, Quality, and
Readability in English and Spanish" this
article from the May 23-30, 2001 issue of
JAMA was the focus of media attention
when it was published. Using the topics of
breast cancer, obesity, depression, and
childhood asthma, the authors assessed
fourteen search engines for accuracy,
comprehensiveness and consistency. Sites
were evaluated by thirty-seven physicians
from around the United States. They also
evaluated Spanish-language web sites for the
same topics. You can read the full study as
well as other information and links to media
coverage, at
http://ehealth.chcf.org/view.cfm?section=Ind
ustry&itemID=3973
Multilingual Health Education Network
http://www.multilingual-health-
education.net/index2.html
Please note that this excellent web site,
Canada?s multi-language resource for
professional health care providers, has a new
URL, listed above.. (Its previous URL,
, now links to a
pornography site.) Farsi and Hindi are some
of the nine languages available. Click on
Vietnamese, for instance, to link to PDF
files on childhood diseases or common
surgical procedures, and vaccination.
Medical Conditions and Special
Dietary Needs
AIDS/HIV
Nutrition for Healthy Living (NFHL)
http://www.tufts.edu/med/nutrition_HIV/ne
wsletter/Newsletter.html
Since 1996, Tufts University's School of
Medicine Nutrition/Infection Unit has
been providing information on nutrition
and HIV to over 15,000 people worldwide
via the NFHL Newsletter. Though there is
no search engine, it is easy to see the topics
listed in the table of contents of each issue.
For example, the Spring, 2000 issue includes
an article, "Chillin' in the Freezer Lane"
listing price, protein, and fat for a number of
popular frozen dinners. The same issue
includes several recipes. There are over a
dozen links to governmental, educational
and commercial Nutrition and Fitness sites
related to AIDS/HIV at
http://www.tufts.edu/med/nutrition_HIV/lin
ks/HIVLinks.html#nutrition
Cancer
American Cancer Society
http://www.cancer.org
The American Cancer Society (ACS)?s
site includes information on nutrition for
children and adults. Click on Living with
Cancer, then Coping with Cancer, and
from the drop-down menu box, choose
Nutrition for the Child with Cancer.
Information available includes suggestions
for increasing calories and proteins, as well
as recipes. For adults, choose Nutrition for
the Person with Cancer. Many topics are
available; choose, for instance, Managing
Eating Problems during Treatment. From
the options listed, click on Nutrition for
Individuals with Altered Immune
Function. There is information on foods to
avoid, food-handling tips, grocery shopping,
and dining out.
Oncolink
http://www.oncolink.upenn.edu/support/nutrition/
Once again, Oncolink makes an appearance
in the CHRC News, this time for its many
links to books and FAQs about nutritional
support during cancer treatment. For
example, click on OncoTip of the Day:
Esophagitis, for foods to eat and avoid in
coping with esophagitis, an inflammation of
the esophagus that causes pain and
discomfort with swallowing. It is a common
side effect of radiation treatment for lung
cancer, Hodgkin?s Disease, Non-Hodgkin?s
Lymphoma, and head and neck cancers.
Chemotherapy may also cause esophagitis.
Digestive Diseases
Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of
America (CCFA)
http://www.ccfa.org/medcentral/library/diet/
CCFA's mission is to cure and prevent
Crohn's Disease and ulcerative colitis
through research, and to improve the quality
of life of children and adults affected by
these digestive diseases. The Library:
Diet, Nutrition and Fitness section of the
CCFA site covers a wide variety of
nutritional and dietary information.
Included are links to food sources for
vitamins and minerals; alcohol and
inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); and
specific diets (e.g. low residue, low fiber)
for increasing calories and proteins and
recipes.
National Digestive Diseases Information
Clearinghouse
http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/digest/pubs
/lactose/lactose.htm
The NIDDK's Lactose Intolerance page
includes help in planning a high-calcium and
low-lactose diet, as well as "hidden lactose"
foods, and a link to an easy-to-read
brochure, ?Why Does Milk Bother Me??
Food Allergies
Celiac and Gluten-Free Diet Support
Page
http://www.celiac.com/
The purpose of this site is to provide people
who have celiac disease or gluten
intolerance, and are not aware of it, with a
means of figuring out what their problem is,
and to help those who know they have it
lead more comfortable and healthy lives.
Arrow down the page to find links to Safe
and Forbidden Foods for Gluten-Free
Diets. These are lengthy, alphabetic lists,
some of which contain links. There are
Recipes and Cooking Tips as well as links
to Gluten-Free Specialty Food
Companies.
Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network
http://www.foodallergy.org/
The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis
Network (FAAN) was established in 1991.
Its membership includes families, dietitians,
nurses, physicians, school staff,
representatives from government agencies,
and the food and pharmaceutical industries.
Click on Managing Food Allergies in
Schools to view information relevant to
parents, teachers, bus drivers, school nurses,
and young students, including an
Emergency Health Care Plan, suitable for
displaying in public places, in both English
and Spanish. Click on Recipe of the Month
for milk-free, egg-free, wheat-free, peanut-
free, soy-free, or nut-free recipes. The home
page includes links to up-to-the-minute
allergy alerts.
Osteoporosis and Related Bone Disease
National Resource Center (ORBD~NRC)
http://www.osteo.org
ORBD~NRC is a resource center funded by
a grant from the National Institute of
Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin
Diseases of the National Institutes of Health.
Click on Newsletters to see Parts I and II of
Nutrition and the Skeleton, including
information about calcium absorption. To
use the search engine, enter a word,
preceded by a plus sign (e.g. +bread).
Osteoporosis Overview lists bread fortified
with calcium as an example of a good food
source. Click on Bone Links for other
resources providing information about
osteoporosis, Paget's disease, osteogenesis
imperfecta, and related metabolic bone
diseases.
General Information
Tufts University Nutrition Navigator
http://navigator.tufts.edu/about.html
Tufts University nutritionists apply rating
and evaluation criteria developed by the
Tufts University Nutrition Navigator
Advisory Board to each of the web sites
included at this site. Governmental,
academic and organizational sites are
represented, and are grouped under broad
headings. Click on Special Dietary Needs.
Choose, for example, Meals for You, which
rates 23 out of a possible 25 points. This
less-than-perfect score is due to the Tufts
nutritionists caveat that "the recipes appear
to be sorted by a nutrient analysis program,
meaning that no person selected and placed
recipes into the specific nutrient categories.
While the numbers are all correct, such a
focus on a single nutrient can often skew
how healthy (or unhealthy) a dish really is."
This review links to the site itself. Click on
Diet to find recipes for, among others,
Kosher, Vegetarian, or Wheatless and
Dairyless diets. The Advanced Search for
recipes allows you to check off a wide range
of ingredient categories to exclude, for
example, yeast, corn products, and gluten.
You can also choose to look for recipes with
high or low levels of vitamins or minerals.
In Print
Coping with prednisone : (and other
cortisone-related medicines) : it may
work miracles, but how do you handle the
side effects? / Eugenia Zukerman and
Julie R. Ingelfinger / New York : St.
Martin's Griffin, 1997
"An estimated one million people in the
United States take high doses of prednisone
and related drugs (glucocorticoids) yearly?
state the authors. These drugs, effective in
alleviating many illnesses and conditions,
also have side effects ranging from possible
weight gain to redistribution of body fat.
Several chapters are devoted to nutritional
guidelines and recipes for various age
groups.
Everything you need to know about
medical treatments / Springhouse, PA :
Springhouse Corp., 1996
One of this popular book?s chapters,
Treating Nutritional and Metabolic
Disorders includes diets for a wide variety
of problems. There are instructions for low-
purine diets, fiber-modified diets, low-
phenylalanine diets, and more.
Finding recipes and nutritional information
for less-commonly encountered illnesses and
conditions can be time-consuming. Don?t
hesitate to ask us for assistance on this or
any other subject. Please let us know if
there?s a topic you?d like to see covered in
the CHRC News.
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CHRC Contact Information
Tel: 1-877-MEDI-REF (1-877-633-4733)
or 617-726-8600
Fax: 617-726-6784
E-mail:
treadwellqanda@partners.org
or treadwellqanda@partners.org
Consumer Health Reference Center
Treadwell Library
Bartlett Hall Extension 1
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, MA 02114.
http://www.mgh.harvard.edu/library/chrcindex.html
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