Public Health
Helpful Public Health Websites
- Disaster Lit: Resources Guide for Disaster Medicine & Public Health"Documents include expert guidelines, research reports, conference proceedings, training classes, fact sheets, websites, databases, and similar materials selected from over 700 organizations for a professional audience."
Other Online Resources
- Hear Our StoriesLed by members of the UMass Amherst faculty, this program uses digital storytelling to examine sexual and reproductive health disparities among young parenting Latinas in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
- Information is BeautifulCreates colorful visualizations with various types of data. Categories include health, climate and science.
- Future of Public Health in the 21st CenturyFree PDF of this book from the National Academies Press.
- Health Services/Technology Assessment Texts (HSTAT)Welcome to this free, Web-based resource of full-text documents that provide health information and support health-care decision making.
- Effective Public Health Practice ProjectThe Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) is an expert team of researchers producing high-quality evidence synthesis documents, including systematic reviews, for health practitioners and decision makers in order to inform the planning and delivery of public health services in Canada.
- MPH Programs List.comFree resource for students interested in graduate public health, public administration, public policy and health administration programs.
Evaluating Websites
How can you tell whether information you find on the web is accurate? The following criteria can help you with evaluating web resources.
Accuracy: The domain (i.e. .com) can tell you a lot about a website. Sites can be .com (commercial), .edu (academic institutions), .gov (governmental), .mil (military), or .org (organization - usually non-commercial). Of these, .edu and .gov sites are the most trustworthy.
Objectivity: Is the site subjective (opinion-based) or objective (fact-based)?
Purpose:
- Are the authors trying to sell you something? Convince you of something? Convey factual information?
- Look for sections like "About Us" or "Mission Statement" to get a better idea of what the site is trying to do.
- Some websites that appear to be informational and scholarly are actually sneakily trying to sell you something or have a hidden agenda, so you need to play detective and dig for clues about a site's true purpose.
Timeliness: Hunt around for a "last updated" statement. If it's been more than a year or two since the last update, it can be a clue that the site is not maintained very well.
Authority: Can you find out who the author of the content is? If so, is s/he an expert on the subject? Does the author leave contact information?
MORE on Evaluating Web Pages from UC Berkeley
National Library of Medicine's Selection Guidelines for Non-National Library of Medicine Resources
Professional Organizations
- American Public Health Association (APHA)Has a Student Assembly
- Massachusetts Public Health Association (MPHA)Has Student rate
Public Health Matters Blog
Blog from the CDC:
"Sharing our stories on preparing for and responding to public health events"
- Last Updated: Feb 20, 2023 1:59 PM
- URL: https://guides.library.umass.edu/pubhealth
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