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QuitNet
is your one-stop shopping site for online smoking cessation
support groups and educational resources. The site features
a quitting guide that lays out the cons of smoking and
the trials and benefits of quitting. Questionnaires
help you identify where you are in the process of quitting
and help you understand what makes you smoke and what
your level of addiction is.
The site provides emotional and peer support for those
trying to quit, with links to local programs and online
resources. Other members of the QuitNet community are
available online to chat with and support each other
in their shared quest to quit smoking.
Patient safety
The
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality was designed
to address the critical issues of medical errors and
patient safety. In 1999, the Institute of Medicine issued
a report estimating that as many as 98,000 people die
each year as a result of medical errors. This site provides
links to the online journal Morbidity & Mortality
Rounds on the Web, as well as a large library of articles
and documents on providing safer health care. The site
links to clinical information, funding opportunities,
data and surveys, quality assessment and consumer health.
Emergency preparedness
The American Nurses Association, working with the Office
of Emergency Response, has created the National
Nurses Response Team. The NNRT was formed after
Sept. 11 to provide nurses with an organized means of
helping in the event of a national disaster. The NNRT
has 10 regionally based teams of nurses that can be
called upon to assist with vaccinations or chemoprophylaxis,
or in any emergency situation where large numbers of
nurses would be needed. Joining the NNRT ensures that
nurses will receive specialized training, credentialing
and instruction in the use of appropriate protective
equipment.
An application to join the team can be found at the
National
Disaster Medical System site.
Living with seizures
Epilepsy.com,
an online resource provided by the Epilepsy Cure Project,
is an educational site for the public, including children.
It provides an in-depth animation that shows and describes
what happens before, during and after a seizure. A series
of educational materials on epilepsy, "Learn the
Basics," provides detailed information including
pictures and descriptions of the tests and treatments
a patient may undergo. This series is broken down into
subtitles: Epilepsy 101, Diagnosis 101, Treatment 101
and Living with Epilepsy 101. People share their experiences
living with seizures in a section called "People
Stories." The site also includes a page under development
for health care professionals.
Epilepsy awareness
One of the oldest neurological professional organizations
in the country, the American
Epilepsy Society promotes research and education
for professionals working to prevent, treat and cure
epilepsy. One of its primary goals is to promote interdisciplinary
communication among those caring for people with seizure
disorders. The site provides a link to a free CME article,
"Epilepsy in Women." Pharmaceutical information
includes drug alerts, drug information and a directory
of prescription drug assistance programs for patients
with epilepsy.
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