- Email: [email protected]
World Bank launches web broadcasts
DISSECTING ROOM
Webwatch
Link up to diabetes
Contributed by Marilynn Larkin [email protected]
Diabetes on the rise worldwide and webwide ramatic new evidence signals the unfolding of an epidemic [of diabetes] in the United States”, proclaims Jeffrey Koplan, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a statement about findings in the February issue of the American Diabetes Association journal, Diabetes Care. Diabetes rates rose 6% among US adults in 1999 alone. From 1990–98, rates of diagnosed diabetes rose some 33%, and this increase coincided with a 57% increase in obesity, a leading diabetes risk factor. Equally alarming is a fact sheet posted on the Diabetes UK (formerly the British Diabetic Association) website stating that “diabetes is a global health problem that is expected to present one of the 21st century’s biggest medical challenges”; here, too, increasing rates of obesity and inactivity are pinpointed as contributing factors. Fortunately, the web provides many excellent resources for physicians and
D
patients wanting to keep pace with the latest diabetes research and prevention and management strategies (see panel). A good starting point, in addition to the sites referenced above, is medical writer Rick Mendosa’s compendium of diabetes links. The site contains 15 pages of searchable, browsable annotated links in such categories as research, organisations and charities, universities, hospitals, medications, and software, and includes a separate area devoted to nonEnglish language sites. The Belgium-based International Diabetes Foundation acts as a “global advocate for people with diabetes and their healthcare providers”. On its website, too, we learn that there is a “pandemic” of diabetes, which now affects more than 150 million people worldwide and is predicted to affect 300 million by 2025. The site presents an overview of global initiatives to prevent and better manage diabetes, including a good selection of links (many to non-English lan-
World Bank launches web broadcasts B-SPAN www.worldbank.org/wbi/B-SPAN/ n an effort to “open a window into a unique world”, the World Bank has launched B-SPAN—webcasts of seminars and conferences on sustainable development and poverty issues that heretofore could be attended only by World Bank staff
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THE LANCET • Vol 357 • March 10, 2001
members. The site promises to provide “transparency and accountability” by showing and archiving unedited footage. At the time of this review, no schedule of real-time webcasts was posted and it was not clear how users would be informed about such events. Nonetheless, even in its current form, the site is fascinating to someone who enjoys going “behind the scenes” and learning about subjects that might not otherwise be front of mind—for example, the economics of pesticide use, law enforcement activities to reduce illegal forestry and logging practices in Cambodia, and perspectives on negotiations at The Hague to deal with global warming and climate change. For decisionmakers in developing countries and other individuals interested in advocating for economic and social reforms, B-SPAN should be an invaluable resource. B-SPAN makes use of the free, basic version of RealPlayer 8. The quality of the archived webcasts is good and files download fairly rapidly even over a slow dialup connection. Each webcast is accompanied by a text summary that
American Diabetes Association www.diabetes.org/ Diabetes Public Health Resource www.cdc.gov/diabetes Diabetes UK www.diabetes.org.uk Insulin Dependent Diabetes Trust www.iddtinternational.org/main.html International Diabetes Federation www.idf.org Joslin Diabetes Center www.joslin.org Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation www.jdrf.org Online Diabetes Resources www.mendosa.com/faq.htm
guage sites). The “What is Diabetes” page features patient education materials and a downloadable PowerPoint presentation that can be used for teaching purposes. Also of interest is the website of Harvard Medical School’s Joslin Diabetes Center, which features a potpourri of news, an online diabetes research library, and continuing medical education courses. Next week (March 16), as part of its national diabetes awareness campaign, the US Postal Service will launch a diabetes awareness stamp in a ceremony at the centre. highlights key points. “Related links” take the user to other areas on the World Bank site that provide tremendous amounts of background information and a wide range of publications freely downloadable in .pdf format. Click on the site map for a well-organised display of all of the World Bank’s website offerings.
Click of the Week AgePage Dutch psychologist and gerontologist Rosemarie Smeets has created an intriguing page of links to international sites related to ageing. Smeets says that this not-for-profit initiative was undertaken to facilitate contact between gerontologists and geriatricians in The Netherlands and other countries, and to “stimulate and intensify international cooperation and teamwork for education, science, and research” on ageing. On a single, quickly downloadable page, one can find hundreds of easy-to-browse links to such diverse organisations as Aging and EthnicityWeb, the Second World Assembly on Aging, Finland’s Include website, AgeConcern London, and La Gerontologie Francaise. Each site opens in its own window. gerontologie.pagina.nl
815
For personal use only. Reproduce with permission from The Lancet Publishing Group.
Webwatch
Link up to diabetes
Contributed by Marilynn Larkin [email protected]
Diabetes on the rise worldwide and webwide ramatic new evidence signals the unfolding of an epidemic [of diabetes] in the United States”, proclaims Jeffrey Koplan, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a statement about findings in the February issue of the American Diabetes Association journal, Diabetes Care. Diabetes rates rose 6% among US adults in 1999 alone. From 1990–98, rates of diagnosed diabetes rose some 33%, and this increase coincided with a 57% increase in obesity, a leading diabetes risk factor. Equally alarming is a fact sheet posted on the Diabetes UK (formerly the British Diabetic Association) website stating that “diabetes is a global health problem that is expected to present one of the 21st century’s biggest medical challenges”; here, too, increasing rates of obesity and inactivity are pinpointed as contributing factors. Fortunately, the web provides many excellent resources for physicians and
D
patients wanting to keep pace with the latest diabetes research and prevention and management strategies (see panel). A good starting point, in addition to the sites referenced above, is medical writer Rick Mendosa’s compendium of diabetes links. The site contains 15 pages of searchable, browsable annotated links in such categories as research, organisations and charities, universities, hospitals, medications, and software, and includes a separate area devoted to nonEnglish language sites. The Belgium-based International Diabetes Foundation acts as a “global advocate for people with diabetes and their healthcare providers”. On its website, too, we learn that there is a “pandemic” of diabetes, which now affects more than 150 million people worldwide and is predicted to affect 300 million by 2025. The site presents an overview of global initiatives to prevent and better manage diabetes, including a good selection of links (many to non-English lan-
World Bank launches web broadcasts B-SPAN www.worldbank.org/wbi/B-SPAN/ n an effort to “open a window into a unique world”, the World Bank has launched B-SPAN—webcasts of seminars and conferences on sustainable development and poverty issues that heretofore could be attended only by World Bank staff
I
THE LANCET • Vol 357 • March 10, 2001
members. The site promises to provide “transparency and accountability” by showing and archiving unedited footage. At the time of this review, no schedule of real-time webcasts was posted and it was not clear how users would be informed about such events. Nonetheless, even in its current form, the site is fascinating to someone who enjoys going “behind the scenes” and learning about subjects that might not otherwise be front of mind—for example, the economics of pesticide use, law enforcement activities to reduce illegal forestry and logging practices in Cambodia, and perspectives on negotiations at The Hague to deal with global warming and climate change. For decisionmakers in developing countries and other individuals interested in advocating for economic and social reforms, B-SPAN should be an invaluable resource. B-SPAN makes use of the free, basic version of RealPlayer 8. The quality of the archived webcasts is good and files download fairly rapidly even over a slow dialup connection. Each webcast is accompanied by a text summary that
American Diabetes Association www.diabetes.org/ Diabetes Public Health Resource www.cdc.gov/diabetes Diabetes UK www.diabetes.org.uk Insulin Dependent Diabetes Trust www.iddtinternational.org/main.html International Diabetes Federation www.idf.org Joslin Diabetes Center www.joslin.org Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation www.jdrf.org Online Diabetes Resources www.mendosa.com/faq.htm
guage sites). The “What is Diabetes” page features patient education materials and a downloadable PowerPoint presentation that can be used for teaching purposes. Also of interest is the website of Harvard Medical School’s Joslin Diabetes Center, which features a potpourri of news, an online diabetes research library, and continuing medical education courses. Next week (March 16), as part of its national diabetes awareness campaign, the US Postal Service will launch a diabetes awareness stamp in a ceremony at the centre. highlights key points. “Related links” take the user to other areas on the World Bank site that provide tremendous amounts of background information and a wide range of publications freely downloadable in .pdf format. Click on the site map for a well-organised display of all of the World Bank’s website offerings.
Click of the Week AgePage Dutch psychologist and gerontologist Rosemarie Smeets has created an intriguing page of links to international sites related to ageing. Smeets says that this not-for-profit initiative was undertaken to facilitate contact between gerontologists and geriatricians in The Netherlands and other countries, and to “stimulate and intensify international cooperation and teamwork for education, science, and research” on ageing. On a single, quickly downloadable page, one can find hundreds of easy-to-browse links to such diverse organisations as Aging and EthnicityWeb, the Second World Assembly on Aging, Finland’s Include website, AgeConcern London, and La Gerontologie Francaise. Each site opens in its own window. gerontologie.pagina.nl
815
For personal use only. Reproduce with permission from The Lancet Publishing Group.