| Vol.
I, No. 5 | Cabin
Fever / Town Meeting | Feb.
19th, 2001 |
Links
to Health & Medicine On-Line
Useful Information on
Menopause The amount of info on the
web is enormous, as anyone who's ever tried to run a search can attest to.
And, to put it all in context, best estimates say that only a fraction, maybe 20
- 40 % of what's out there is actually making its way to the search
engines.
Well ...
Here
at DownStreet, we'd like to try to help. So each issue, we post a
few links in Health & Medicine to sites that might interest you.
Sometimes the links will be related to one another ... sometimes
we'll just offer up a somewhat random sampling. In either case, we think
we might be able to help you find the kind of site you've been looking for.
Of course, while we can't vouch for the fact that every link we provide will be
of interest to everyone, we do our best to filter out the noise and the
bustle. ... Useful Information on
Menopause
To accompany this month's 1st of our 2-part series on
"The Change: Menopause in the 21st Century," we thought links to sites
with important and useful information regarding menopause would be an
appropriate use of this month's Links to Health & Medicine On-Line. MEDLINEplus
Menopause Medline is a service of the National Library of
Medicine and provides MedlinePlus’ Health information websites. This
Menopause section follows a set format that Medline uses for all their other
topics. You’ll find Latest News, From the NIH, General Overviews, Clinical
Trials, Prevention/Screening, Research, Specific Conditions/Aspects,
Treatment, and Organizations. ...
.
The
site is simply a clearinghouse for other sites and articles and, like
Medscape, its bias is conventional medicine. But it has an excellent
mix of basic and technical articles. It's also very simple to
use. The menu on the left sends you to one of the topics, all of which
you can get to from the front page. ... While you're here, go to
the lengthy article on Menopause under From the NIH . Although it was
put together in 1994, it is a wonderful introduction to Menopause, covering
every aspect. The article includes quotes from women, charts,
illustrations, references to studies, and all in very understandable
language. This is the place to start if you want to understand the
process of menopause and what the issues are.
.
For a wide selection
of articles on many aspects of menopause, including the NIH’s overview,
visit this site early in your search.
Rating ****[four stars]
. Menopause
Online Menopause Online is powered by Third
Age. It will give you good background information on menopause, but
its real strength is practical and balanced information on how to handle the
specific challenges of menopause. ...
.
The
site loads quickly and is well organized, but you have to do a lot of
scrolling to see all that’s available. The Bulletin Board shows up
first. This is the only iffy section of the site, since it’s a
little hard to figure out how to navigate the bulletin board (the directions
are overly complicated). You can read the messages that have already
been posted. Some have helpful suggestions, but, unfortunately, just
as many have nothing to do with menopause. ... The News Update
is updated daily and has breaking articles on menopause. This is
important since the “facts” related to treatments and therapies for
menopause seem to change daily. The Featured Section is updated
monthly and is a nice mix of articles by women experiencing menopause,
experts, and conventional and alternative healthcare providers. This
balance is one of the strengths of the site. ... It’s a bit
hard to find, but there’s also a Doctor who will answer your online
questions. We couldn’t find a list of these answers posted,
however. The Comic Relief section presents the light (and somewhat
corny) side of menopause.
.
Finally,
there's the Favorites Section. This month’s has 8 articles that give
an excellent discussion of the practical issues of menopause. They are
written simply, but with enough specific scientific and medical information
to be comprehensive. Health Resources is also great (look under the
“Favorites” column). Here, you'll find sites, books, and
newsletters concerning Women & Health, Of Interest to Women, and General
Health. ... This site is a must for women who want to stay
current with straightforward and practical information about menopause.
Rating
**** [4 stars] Medscape
Resource Center - Menopause Medscape's
Menopause Resource Center bills itself as “a collection of the latest
medical news and information on menopause." The Resource Center
includes "news, conference summaries, articles, MEDLINE abstracts,
links to professional organizations, practice guidelines, and practical
clinical tools.” And that last is exactly what Medscape's offering
is. ... {You have to register, but it's free.}
.
Medscape
is a site for healthcare providers, very medical. You will read what
your doctor is reading, with lots of references to the latest
research. The downside is that some of this will be too technical to
wade through. But the upside is that you can get the information
before it’s been spun by the media. Remember, though, that it's a
pharmaceutical company which sponsors this website. ... The articles
are organized by type according to Medscape’s categories, rather than by
subject, so you will want to scan the opening page from top to bottom.
Articles do load quickly. And longer articles include a table of contents in
the right border. The articlesalso often link you to related articles.
.
This
is a very valuable site for anyone who wants the technical information
herself in order to make informed decisions.
Rating ****[four stars]
. *******
******* If you know of any
links that you think are worthwhile, why not send them along to
...
links@downstreetmagazine.com
... If we agree, we'll be happy to
include them in an upcoming issue to pass the word along. ...
Thanks. *******
******* .
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