Subject and Course Guides: Consumer Health: General Health Resources & Databases

Finding health information on the Internet can be risky!

Not all of the information online is reliable or up to date.

Check out these resources for help in evaluating online health information:

Medical Library Association (MLA) User's Guide
This guide to evaluating online health information is supported by the MLA - the organization of librarians whose primary purpose is promoting quality information for improved health.
Evaluating Health Information from MedlinePlus
This National Library of Medicine page points you to great resources and includes a link to the MedlinePlus tutorial on evaluating health information online.
Health on the Net (HON) Code
Find out more about the HON Code and why it can help you find reliable information.

Free and Reliable Online Health Information Resources:

MedlinePlus
MedlinePlus, from the National Library of Medicine (NLM), provides information that is authoritative and up to date. Includes a variety of health topics, conditions, and drug information, as well as, a medical encyclopedia, videos and games, and current news. Information is available in English and Spanish.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The CDC provides a wide-variety of reliable health information.
Genetic Science Learning Center
The Genetic Science Learning Center is a science and health education program located in the midst of the bioscience research being carried out at the University of Utah.
Genetics Home Reference
Genetics Home Reference is the National Library of Medicine (NLM) website for consumer information about genetic conditions and the genes or chromosomes associated with those conditions.
Health Finder
Reliable health information from the government on a wide variety of topics.
Healthline
A wide variety of information from a website with HONcode certification.
Legal Guide to Health Claims on Food
From the University of Dayton
Mayo Clinic
"Mayo Clinic's award-winning website offers consumer health information and self-improvement tools. Mayo Clinic's medical experts and editorial professionals bring you access to the knowledge and experience of Mayo Clinic for all your consumer health information needs, from cancer, diabetes and heart disease to nutrition, exercise and pregnancy. "
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
NCCIH is the federal government's lead agency for scientific research on the diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine. NCCIH is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Quackwatch
Quackwatch, Inc., is a nonprofit corporation whose purpose is to combat health-related frauds, myths, fads, fallacies, and misconduct. Its primary focus is on quackery-related information that is difficult or impossible to get elsewhere. Founded by Dr. Stephen Barrett in 1969 as the Lehigh Valley Committee Against Health Fraud, it was incorporated in 1970.

Resources for Specific Audiences:

Kids and Parents

Genetic Science Learning Center
The Genetic Science Learning Center is a science and health education program located in the midst of the bioscience research being carried out at the University of Utah.
Kidshealth
Includes information for kids, teens, and parents.

Español

Kidshealth
Información para niños, adolescentes, y padres.
MedlinePlus
Información de salud para usted.
SALUD: Spanish Access to Literature / Uso Directo
SALUD is a collaboration between the Chicago Department of Public Health and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Library of the Health Sciences and College of Nursing. The collaboration aims to bring appropriate Spanish & English language materials to the public and public health professionals.
Health Information Translations
Health information in multiple languages. Search by language or topic.

Resources in Multiple Languages

Health Information Translations
Health information in multiple languages. Search by language or topic.

Women

Women's Health
The Office on Women's Health (OWH) is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The OWH website provides reliable information on women's health issues.

Online Health Information Databases:

Consumer Health Complete - EBSCOhost
Available on campus or with UIC netID & password.
Consumer-oriented coverage of all areas of health and wellness from mainstream medicine to complementary, holistic and integrated medicine.
Consumer Health Complete is designed to support patients' information needs and foster an overall understanding of health-related topics. It includes the Clinical Reference System and the Lexi-PAL Drug Guide, which provides access to up-to-date, concise and clinically relevant drug monographs. The database is updated on a weekly basis.

Consumer Product Information Database
more...less...
This database links over 23,000 consumer brands to health effects from Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) provided by manufacturers and allows scientists and consumers to research products based on chemical ingredients.

Health Source: Consumer Edition
Available on campus or with UIC netID & password.
Health information including reference books, reports and pamphlets, drug information and more.
This database is a rich collection of consumer health information including health reference books, reports and pamphlets, drug information and more.
PubMed
PubMed, a service of the National Library of Medicine, provides access to MEDLINE citations back to the mid-1960's to present.
PubMed, a service of the National Library of Medicine, provides access to over 12 million MEDLINE citations back to the mid-1960's and additional life science journals. Pub Med includes links to many sites providing full text articles and other related resources.

Can't find what you're looking for?

Visitors that are on campus have access to even more resources through the library's subscriptions.

Many of these resources are intended for doctors, nurses, other health professionals, and students in these fields.

Check the Databases list for a complete listing of databases available at UIC.

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Consumer Health

Finding health information on the Internet can be risky!

Not all of the information online is reliable or up to date.

Free and Reliable Online Health Information Resources:

Resources for Specific Audiences:

Kids and Parents

Español

Resources in Multiple Languages

Women

Online Health Information Databases:

Can't find what you're looking for?

Locations

Richard J. Daley Library

Library of the Health Sciences-Chicago

Library of the Health Sciences-Peoria

Crawford Library of the Health Sciences-Rockford

Library of the Health Sciences-Urbana