Federal publications in health and biomedicine: Consumer health and education

Federal publications in health and biomedicine: Consumer health and education

Government Publications Review, Vol. 10, pp. 321-325, 1983 Printed Copyright in the USA. All rights reserved. 0277-9390/83 $3.00 + .oO D 1983 Perga...

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Government Publications Review, Vol. 10, pp. 321-325, 1983 Printed

Copyright

in the USA. All rights reserved.

0277-9390/83 $3.00 + .oO D 1983 Pergamon Press Ltd

FEDERAL PUBLICATIONS IN HEALTH AND BIOMEDICINE: CONSUMER HEALTH AND EDUCATION

VALERIE Documents

Librarian

and Editor,

FLORANCE

MEDOC Eccles Health Sciences Salt Lake City, UT 84112

Library,

University

of Utah,

Dissemination of research results and educational materials has been an important function of U.S. government agencies for at least 100 years [l]. In its recent comprehensive review of government publishing (undertaken in conjunction with President Reagan’s publishing moratorium of 1981), the Office of Management and Budget identified 12,217 titles of periodical and pamphlet series issued by executive departments of the U.S. government. Some 1100 of these titles, representing over 40% of the printed copies, were issued by the Health and Human Services Department [2]. Second only to the Defense Department in monies expended for publishing in 1980 [3], Health and Human Services produces a broad range of titles aimed at scholars, educators, professionals and the general public. Though sooner or later nearly every executive department publishes something in the area of health, Health and Human Services, by its very nature, far outstrips the others both in sheer numbers of documents and in variety of content. In future months, this column will highlight medical and health-oriented publications of government agencies and Congress. It will be our goal to alert you to new and interesting items as well as retrospective series of note. Some columns will highlight the publications of a particular department, while others will provide references on a topic of interest. Suggestions for topics will be warmly received. The recent upsurge of interest in consumer health in the United States (evidenced by the proliferation of health spas, joggers, exercise classes, diets, etc.) has spawned a variety of programs aimed at the general public: health information fairs and consumer information centers, to name two. State and local officials, librarians, health care professionals and others are devoting considerable time and resources to health promotion and education activities. The federal government contributes to these local initiatives by publishing consumer health materials which can be easily reproduced or ordered in bulk quantities at minimum expense. The remainder of this article discusses issuances of the federal government which are devoted to health topics of consumer interest. The SEARCH FOR HEALTH series has been produced by the National Institutes of Health since 1982. Each issue consists of a single sheet; occasionally, line drawings relieve the rather stark three-column print format. Each title in this series is printed in Spanish or English; the Spanish editions are exact reproductions of their English counterparts. The series covers a wide range of ailments and exhortations, giving non-technical information aimed at adult readers. Clearly, SEARCH FOR HEALTH is produced to serve as masters for handouts, and most provide addresses for further information. Titles in the series to date include:

321

322

HE 20.3038: AC4 AG 412 AC 4/3 C 16 C 67 C 73IRABBIT C 73/TOUCH C 73/VOCAL D 43/REPLANT D 43/SMILE D 43/YELLOW D 54 EX 3/BENEFITS EX 3/KEY EX 3/MYTHS IM 6 IN 3 G 28 G 34 L 57 L 98 M 97 OR 1 P 76 P 91

P 91/PT.2

SE 9 SI 6

VALERIE

FLORANCE

AGING AND ACCIDENTS AGING AND DENTAL HEALTH AGING AND FOOT PROBLEMS REDUCE YOUR RISK OF CANCER THE COMMON COLD CAN YOU SAY RABBIT? “WABBIT” KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH THE WORLD FLEXING THOSE VOCAL CORD MUSCLES FAST REPLANT CAN SAVE CHILD’S TOOTH WAYS DENTISTS CAN IMPROVE YOUR SMILE AND PROTECT YOUR TEETH YELLOW STAINS ON CHILDREN’S TEETH DIABETES THE BENEFITS OF EXERCISE THE KEY TO SUCCESS: HOW DO I BEGIN? THE COMMON MYTHS ABOUT EXERCISE CHILDHOOD IMMUNIZATION INFLUENZA GENITAL HERPES GIARDIASIS: A PARASITIC DISEASE ADVANCES IN CHILDHOOD LEUKEMIA WHAT IS LYMPHATIC CANCER? MUSCULAR DISTROPHY ORAL HERPES: FEVER BLISTERS POLLEN ALLERGY PREGNANCY AND YOU, PART 1: GETTING THE CARE YOU NEED; EATING THE RIGHT FOODS FOR TWO; NURSING: GOOD FOR YOUR BABY -GOOD FOR YOU PREGNANCY AND YOU, PART 2: DRINKING: FOR YOUR BABY’ SAKE, SAY NO; WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT DRUGS; SMOKING, NO BETTER TIME TO QUIT SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES SINUSITIS

Large print on good quality paper makes the National Institute on Aging’s AGE PAGE another candidate for mass reproduction. Similar to the SEARCH FOR HEALTH series, AGE PAGE consists of single sheets (uniIlustrated~ printed with general information aimed at English-speaking adults. Many AGE PAGES include resources for further information. Titles in this series to date include: HE 20.3861: AR7 C 76 F 73 SK 3 T 22

ARTHRITIS ADVICE. 1982. CONSTIPATION. 1982. FOOT CARE FOR OLDER PEOPLE. 1981. SKIN: GETTING THE WRINKLES OUT OF OLD AGE. 1981. TAKING CARE OF YOUR TEETH. 1981.

323

Federal publications in health and biomedicine

SE 9 su 3 UR3 W 62

SEXUALITY LATER IN LIFE. 1981 CONSIDERING SURGERY? 1983. URINARY INCONTINENCE. 1982. WHO’S WHO IN HEALTH CARE. 1982.

One of the most attractive consumer-oriented series to come from any government agency is the National Institutes of Health series entitled MEDICINE FOR THE LAYMAN. Issued by the Clinical Center of the NIH, the series aims to provide information “to facilitate intelligent decisions on health issues”; text is based upon lectures by distinguished researchers at NIH. To date, 10 pamphlets have been issued in the series; each features relatively nontechnical explanations enlivened by eye-catching color illustrations. The current titles include: HE 20.303 1: AL 5 B 62/2 B 13 C 16 C 16/2 EP 4 H 35 H 35/2 L 97 OB2

ALLERGIES. 198 1. BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS: BENEFITS AND RISKS. 1981. THE BRAIN. 1979. CANCER TREATMENT. 1979. CANCER: WHAT IS IT? 1980. EPILEPSY. 1982. HEART ATTACKS. 1979. THE HEART: DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT, 1980. THE LUNGS. 1979. OBESITY AND ENERGY METABOLISM. 1979.

SEARCH FOR HEALTH, AGE PAGE, and MEDICINE FOR THE LAYMEN are all distributed by the GPO in its depository program, but none is available through GPO Sales. Though AGE PAGE and SEARCH FOR HEALTH would be simple enough to duplicate and redistribute, the MEDICINE FOR THE LAYMAN issues would be better in the originalrequest them from the issuing agency: Clinical Center, Office of Clinical Reports and Inquiries, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20205, (301) 496-2563. A recent entrant into the arena of consumer-oriented publications is the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta. For years, CDC has provided morbidity and mortality data on a regular basis, but the past year has witnessed a virtual epidemic of health education and preventive medicine publications from that office. One series of interest is a set of HOMESTUDY COURSES currently being distributed to depository libraries in microfiche format. Many of these courses are not new; in fact, some were distributed in paper format several years ago. Each series treats a different aspect of public health or skills necessary to work in the field. The format of the lessons varies slightly; some provide written text while others refer the student to privately published text material. In any case, each lesson includes lists of readings, tests and answer sheets. According to the general directions which accompany each series, the courses are designed to provide a general knowledge of the field. Given the technical subject matter of some courses, a high school education would seem mandatory for the prospective student. The courses are prepared and (presumably) monitored by the Homestudy Training Center for Professional Development and Training, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, GA 30333. Titles received to date in the Homestudy Course series include: HE 20.7021:

COMMUNITY HYGIENE, Homestudy 17 lessons and final exam

Couse 3010-g,

324

VALERIE

FLORANCE

HE 20.7021/2:

COMMUNICABLE DISEASE CONTROL, Homestudy Course 3021-g, 11 lessons and final exam

HE 20.7021/3:

PRINCIPLES OF EPIDEMIOLOGY, Homestudy Course 3030-g, 6 lessons, final exam and a supplementary set of textual materials WATERBORNE DISEASE CONTROL, Homestudy Course 3014-g, 11 lessons BASIC MATHEMATICS, Homestudy Course 301 l-g, 11 lessons FOODBORNE DISEASE, Homestudy Course 3016-g 11 lessons and final exam VECTORBORNE DISEASE CONTROL, Homestudy Course 3013-g, 11 lessons and textual materials COMMUNITY HEALTH ANALYSIS, Homestudy Course 3020-g, 4 lessons WATER FLUORIDATION, Homestudy Course 3017-g, 5 lessons

HE 20.7021/4: HE 20.7021/5: HE 20.7021/k HE 20.7021/7: HE 20.7021/8: HE 20.7021/9-2:

Individual issues of SEARCH FOR HEALTH, AGE PAGE: MEDICINE FOR THE LAYMEN and HOMESTUDY COURSES may be requested from the issuing agency. Another useful (albeit indirect) source for health publications of interest to consumers is the GPO’s SUBJECT BIBLIOGRAPHY series. The SUBJECT BIBLIOGRAPHIES list only titles for sale by GPO, so they represent but a small percentage (perhaps lo-20%) of what’s available. Nevertheless, they do at least indicate the wide range of topics and audience levels available in government-produced health information. Not all citations are annotated, but many hint at the level of the contents and some offer reduced prices for bulk orders. The following list is a sampling of useful titles in the area of health and biomedicine; all are available free from the GPO Sales program upon request. Write to: Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. Each series is updated irregularly; ask for the most recent issue.

G P 3.22/2: 15 19 23 28 37 163 167 239 283 291

SMOKING NURSES AND NURSING CARE HEARING AND HEARING DISABILITY CARE AND DISORDERS OF THE EYES THE HANDICAPPED DRUG EDUCATION MENTAL HEALTH PHYSICAL FITNESS CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMM. PUBLICATIONS FOOD, DIET AND NUTRITION

A final regular source of consumer-oriented health information is government periodicals. You may subscribe to most of these titles through GPO Sales, or locate them at your nearest depository library. Many have useful articles which could be reproduced for handouts. Though these titles are not available for free (as are the other items listed here), they provide useful, non-technical information on issues of continuing interest and timely topics. The

Federal

publications

in health and biomedicine

325

following list is a sampling of titles produced by various government agencies; ordering information is provided for each. A 98.11:

A 110.10:

GS 11.9:

HE 20.4010:

HE 20.4010/3:

HE 20.8309:

HE 23.3110:

PREX 1.10/3-2:

HE 23.1209:

FOOD AND NUTRITION - information on food assistance and child nutrition programs administered by USDA. Bimonthly, $7.50 GPO Sales FOOD NEWS FOR CONSUMERS-briefs on recent federal actions relating to food and nutrition. Quarterly, $7.00 GPO Sales CONSUMER INFORMATION CATALOG-lists federal publications available from the Consumer Information Center in Pueblo. Quarterly, request from Consumer Information Center, General Services Administration, Dept. B, Pueblo, CO 81009 FDA CONSUMER- this title deserves special mention. Since 1967, the FDA CONSUMER (and its predecessor FDA PAPERS) has been a dependable source of current, attractively-packaged consumer health information. Though a recent skirmish with the OMB has downgraded the cosmetics of the publication, the quality of the content remains the same. Subscription prices are rising fast -at last count, $17.00 for 10 issues. GPO Sales FDA CONSUMER UPDATE-a newsletter aimed at informing consumers of possibilities for participation in the FDA regulatory process; published by the Office of Consumer Affairs, FDA, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD, 20857. Published irregularly, free from agency ALCOHOL HEALTH AND RESEARCH WORLD - quarterly publication of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. $11 JO. GPO Sales AGING - published by the Administration on Aging, provides a range of information beyond the health field. $16.00. GPO Sales DISABLED USA- from the President’s Committee on Employment of the Handicapped. 10 issues per year, order from the Committee, Washington DC 20210 CHILDREN TODAY-publishes a range of articles relating to child health, education and development. Bimonthly, $11 .OO. GPO Sales NOTES

1. Merritt, Leroy C. The United States Government as Publisher. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1943. 2. Office of Management and Budget. Reform 88: Elimination, Consolidation and Cost Reduction of Government Publicutions. OMB 82-25, October 6, 1982, Washington, D.C. p. 5. 3. Reform 88, p. 4.