Getting Started
Welcome!
Whatever your reason for seeking health information, we hope that you will find good resources here! This Web site was created in cooperation with Denver Healthy People 2010 of the Denver Department of Environmental Health and residents of Denver's Whittier neighborhood. It was made possible by a grant from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine. It is intended to provide easy access to quality health information of interest to residents throughout Denver who want to be informed about health issues for themselves, their families, and their community. Please Tell Us What You Think and let us know how we are doing!
This site is intended for educational purposes only. It is not intended as an endorsement of all the information at each linked site or organization, nor of any products or services that may be associated with these sites. The Internet is filled with health information, but much of it is not reliable. (Disclaimer) The Internet also changes constantly. Some information gets moved without a “forwarding address”, while other resources are abandoned and no longer kept up to date. Still others become updated, substantially changing the content though the web address remains the same. Denver Public Library staff work to keep this information as accurate as possible, but cannot guarantee the continued presence or quality of every link cited.
Because the Internet is so immense, there are many other excellent sites that are not included here due to space and time limitations. The residents of the Whittier neighborhood told us that the best site we could create would have direct links to many materials, but would still be a simple and concise site. We focused much of our content on the health information needs described by our Whittier customers, including those who speak Spanish instead of English, or are of African-American descent . If you do not see what you are looking for here, please see:
- How to Use This Site
- Searching for Health Information
- Sample Searches and Training
- Learning to Use the Computer
This site is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice or treatment. The Denver Public Library does not provide medical or health care advice. Instead we have tried to select reliable resources for our community to use. We believe that people get the best health care when they act as informed participants on their health care team. We encourage you to search for and read about your health concerns. Denver Public Librarians are happy to help you find information, or to refer you to local medical librarians who can provide more in-depth resources and assistance.
We strongly recommend that you evaluate all health information with care, and that you discuss what you find here with your doctor or licensed health professional before making changes involving your health. We suggest that you print out items of interest and take them to discuss with your health care provider to see if the information you find will be useful in your personal situation. Ask questions! Most doctors are happy to have you learn about staying healthy, and to understand any disease or condition you may be dealing with. When you ask good questions, you can understand and follow your health care instructions more effectively.
If you are working to improve your neighborhood or community health, please explore the excellent resources and networking available through Denver Healthy People 2010. And see our section on Making Healthier Communities.
How to Use This Site
The purpose of this site is to provide an easily available collection of quality online health information resources to residents of Denver who want to be informed about health issues for themselves, their families, or their community. Searching for health information can be a daunting task! The Internet is filled with health information, but much of it is not reliable. Those sources that have the most up to date and accurate information may not be the first ones to come up in your search engine. And many possible strategies might not come to mind when you do your search. We hope that the resources here will help to make your searching much more effective, and the results useful to you. We strongly recommend that you evaluate all health information with care, and that you discuss what you find here with your doctor or licensed health professional before making changes involving your health.
Ask A Librarian For Help If you are new to health searching or computers, it is always OK to ask a librarian for help. Your personal information will remain private, and if we don't know how to help you find what you need, we will refer you to someone who can help.
Basic Health Information The category called Basic Health Information is a great place for beginners. Materials in this section were selected because they are easier to use and to read than many other sources. In some cases we have linked directly to an article or section of a web page, so that users will find the basic help that our customers told us was needed. Here you will find help to understand basic anatomy, tips on talking with your doctor, and help to better understand medical language.
Quick & Simple On most of the initial pages, you will see a topic called Quick & Simple, which will provide 4 or 5 links to good general health sites (in many cases, the top site listed will be MedlinePlus). The Quick & Simple sites we have chosen provide information on many of the topics in that category. You will be sent to the main page of these sites. To find what you are looking for, explore their site on your own, click on their site map, or read through their Frequently Asked Questions.
Select A Category This site has nine categories, each with various sub-categories of information. We have organized the categories according to the advice of many customers and professionals, but what you seek may not be immediately obvious from looking at the picture or title. By clicking on the main title, you will go to the top of that page and will see additional topics that are covered there. There is a wealth of information under each category!
Getting Around This Site:
- Search This Site Use “search this site” at the top of any Denver Public Library web page.
- Find In Page If your Internet browser offers a "Find" option, use it to locate a word on the page quickly.
- Breadcrumbs Use the DPL Navigation tools to move around this site. Look for the tracings at the top of our site to see how you got to where you are within the Library site.
- Bookmark This Page Bookmark this page on your own computer for easy access in the future. At the bottom of each page of the Denver Public Library site you will find a box labeled "Bookmark This Page."
- Print This Page Click the bar at the bottom of the page to convert the page to printer-friendly text.
- Text Size If you need to enlarge the text, click on the Print Page bar (bottom of the page). Then click "View" in your Internet Explorer Toolbar, select "Text Size" and adjust the size.
- Site Map Use the Site Map to see at a glance all of the categories and topics in each section. Printable Site Map (in PDF)
Searching for Health Information
Basic Health Information Our one-stop shopping resource!
MedlinePlus Whatever type of health information you are searching for, a great place to begin is MedlinePlus, a service of the National Library of Medicine, with new resources added daily. In almost every section of our Web site you will see Medlineplus listed as a Quick & Simple resource. This is because it has so many excellent resources on virtually every health topic. This is one site that is worth getting to know well.
- Frequently Asked Questions Read through their frequently asked questions..
- Site Map Explore their site
- Tour Scroll down to the bottom right of the page and click to take the Tour. Tour en español
National Library of Medicine Another good resource for a wide range of medical information. On the main page of the NLM Web site, you will be able to access many of NLM's excellent Web sites which we feature in several segments of this Web site. The NLM site is also a portal for some services you may not have thought about, including Profiles in Science and the History of Medicine Division.
Consumer Health Links from Denison Library at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. This site provides lots of coaching on health information searching for the lay person.
Learn how to spell it
- Ask the doctor to write it clearly for you.
- Ask the doctor if there are other names that this condition or medicine might be called.
- Use Medical Dictionaries or Encyclopedias to look it up.
What did my doctor say???
- Deciphering Medspeak from the Medical Library Association
Search the Internet
- HealthyNY.org How to search the Internet like a pro!
- FINDING IT FAST! Locating Medical Information on the World Wide Web from Denison Library at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
- Learn to participate in an online Discussion Group from Denison Library at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Don't forget about books!
Search the catalog at the Denver Public Library in English or Spanish, or choose from many other catalogs. You will need a Denver Public Library Card to use some of these databases and to request that materials be sent to your selected DPL location. You can also find libraries nationwide here.
Search the Impulse catalog at the Denison Library of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center This catalog contains the holdings of many Participating Medical Libraries throughout Denver (over 4,000 Consumer Health Books). Including the word 'popular' in your search is essential to limit results to the non-technical literature.
It's in the news!
Beware of "news" items - Results may not bear up under further scrutiny / research.
- Search the news by date at Medlineplus
Sample Searches and Training Documents
Please use a variety of search strategies, and search in all the sections where your topic might be addressed.
- Diseases and Other Health Questions
- Associations and other Organizations
- Physicians and Other Healthcare Providers
- Statistics
- Searching in Journals
Would you like to learn more about using our Health sites or finding Health information? Try this handout!
- Discover! The New Denver Public Library Health and Medicine Web Sites (in PDF, with practice questions)
For Search Assistance
Ask a Question See the many ways you can Ask a Question at the Denver Public Library.
DPL Locations and Hours DPL librarians in branches throughout the city.
DPL Central Reference Librarians have many reference materials and specialize in finding information for customers. Call 720-865-1363.
DPL Government Documents Reference Librarians have special expertise with government reports and other resources and with finding statistical information. Call 720-865-1712.
Denison Memorial Library is the Colorado Resource Library for the
National Network of Libraries of Medicine MidContinental Region. See the Consumer Health Links from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.
Find a Health Library near you from MedlinePlus.
How to Evaluate Health Information
Always evaluate - even if you find it here! Always evaluate health information. Whether it's a printed flyer at the grocery store, advertising in a magazine or TV, a friend, a billboard or the side of a bus… when you are considering making changes involving your health, always ask questions before making use of information. Be sure the information is:
- accurate
- up to date
- unbiased
- from a reliable authority
- right for you
Here are some good places to learn more:
MedlinePlus Guide to Healthy Web Surfing from MedlinePlus
Evaluating Health Information also from MedlinePlus
Evaluating Internet Health Information A Tutorial from the National Library of Medicine
How to evaluate Health Information on the Internet from the National Cancer Institute. The Federal Trade Commission investigates misleading health claims posted on the Internet.
Diagnosing Web sites from the Medical Library Association
Community Health Information
If you are working to improve your neighborhood or community health, please be aware of the excellent resources and networking available.
Denver Healthy People 2010 A community-wide network of partners dedicated to making Denver a healthy place for all. The initiative is lead by the Denver Department of Environmental Health.
Making Healthier Communities Please see our section on Making Healthier Communities.
Learning to Use the Computer
During our Web site development sessions, we heard from our neighbors in Whittier that they were very excited to see the potential that is available on the library's Web site, but many had no experience using a computer. If that is how you feel, take heart! Just as you don't have to know everything about how a car works in order to drive, you DON'T have to be a programming genius to use a computer!! These sites will get you started, and you will be surprised how easy it is to search the Internet once you learn the basics!
Mousercise Tutorial - Work your way through this tutorial to try out many ways you can use the Mouse when searching the Internet.
Using Computers - lessons - Spanish and English also the broader collection of their links and tips, discussion.
Learn the Internet - Online Tutorial on Web Browsing, with links to many other 'techy topics.
Computer Basics, The Internet & Tutorials
Denver Public Library Online ©
Updated: May 20, 2008
