Resource of the Week — RSS at CDC
By Shirl Kennedy, Senior Editor
Here at ResourceShelf and DocuTicker, we’ve kept our steady eye on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website for years. We know that health information is perennially popular — and not just for those who work in health/healthcare-oriented facilities. No great mystery why, of course.
We all get sick…or injured. We would like to know what to do so we don’t get sick…or injured so often — or how we can get well as quickly as possible after we do get sick…or injured.
We also know — you as well as us — that the Internet is full of bogus (and downright dangerous) health information. So we all want to make sure we’re consulting vetted sources of information.
All of this being said, the CDC website is ginormous — and confusing. So how do you keep up with the best new stuff? As with many other government agencies, we use RSS. And the CDC helpfully places its collection of feeds on a single page, for easy access.
Picking through the various offerings here, we think there’s something for pretty much anyone — e.g.,:
+ For travelers:
- CDC Travel Notices
- Health Information for International Travelers (”The Yellow Book”)
+ For public health officials:
- CDC Public Health Law News
- Public Health Matters (current-events oriented editorial blog)
+ For environmental health professionals:
- Case Studies in Environmental Medicine
- Environmental Health
- Environmental Public Health Tracking Program
+ For emergency and public safety officials:
- CDC Emergency Preparedness and Response: News and Announcements
- CDC Emergency Preparedness and Response: What’s New
- CDC Emergency Text Messages
- Public Service Announcements for Hurricanes
There are a pair of feeds from CDC open access journals:
And the average person — or reference librarian who addresses consumer health information needs — might be interested in:
- CDC Feature Series (stories about topical health-related issues)
- CDC Flu Updates
- Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (”science-based public health information”)
- NCHS Publications and Products (”publications, journal articles, and conference materials released by the National Center for Health Statistics”)
Do take note of the Podcasts tab at the top of the feed listings. Click on it to browse and listen to a variety of topical health-related podcasts, such as:
- What Kids Need to Know About Peanut Butter and Salmonella
- Emergency Preparedness Concerns for Older Adults
- National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
You’ll also find a series of podcasts on stress management for emergency responders.
The National Library of Medicine offers its own collection of feeds, including:
- AIDSinfo At-a-Glance
- DailyMed Drug Label Updates
- MedlinePlus Health News
- What’s New on MedlinePlus
- PubMed New and Noteworthy
USA.gov has put together a collection of health-related RSS feeds from a variety of government agencies, including specialized offerings such as:
- Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)
- Dental and Craniofacial Research News and Funding
- PandemicFlu.gov Website Updates
- Medicare.gov Site Updates
- Complementary and Alternative Medicine
- Food and Drug Recalls from the Food and Drug Administration
For a few feeds related specifically to substance abuse and mental health news and publications, check the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration and the National Institute for Mental Health.
This entry was posted
on Monday, February 2nd, 2009 and is filed under RSS, Resource of the Week, Source File, Web 2.0.
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