Researching Your Health
Session 4 - Using the AARP Health Guide
Course Section
- Introduction
- Starting Your Research
- Senior Health
- Healthfinder.gov
- AARP Health Guide
- Medline Plus
- Conclusion
Use this site:
If you want more details on your health condition, with easy links to learn more about the medications to treat it.
Special features:
How do you like to get new information? Whatever your preference, you can use these articles to get information your way. Clear layouts and menus make it easy to move back and forth between summaries and details that you choose.
Many articles include links to Decision Points and Action Sets. Decision Points list pros and cons of various treatments, with stories on what others have done. Charts help you make your own decision. Action Sets show you what you can do to prevent or improve your condition.
For example, look at the Topic Overview article for Osteoarthritis. Scroll down to Getting Treatment and then to Living with Osteoarthritis. The Decision Set includes a 10-question worksheet to help you decide about knee replacement surgery. The Action Set includes pictures of knee exercises.
What you’ll find:
From the Health Guide main page, you can look up health conditions, medications, medical tests, and support groups.Direct links to the National Library of Medicine take you to interactive slide shows about many health conditions, along with directories of healthcare providers and clinical trials. You can also link to the latest on alternative treatments from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
You can use the health-condition articles just the way you want. Read straight through. Go to only the topics you want. Or click on the exact questions you want answered. Each article gives an easy-to-read combination of basic and in-depth information. On the right side of your screen, click on the information category you want to know more about. There’s always a category called Medications.
AARP’s Health Guide has easy-to-read articles about Medications. Summaries give examples of the drug, with brand and chemical names. You learn how the medication works, why it’s used, and how well it works. Under side effects, you see what may occur when you take the drug. You learn about possible dangerous interactions with other drugs, food, or supplements. And you get some ideas of what to think about before taking the drug.
Some medication articles have a few more details about side effects and possible interactions. A list shows what you need to tell your doctor before taking the medication. There are helpful details on what to avoid, and on what to do if you miss or overdose on a drug. You can also see what the medication looks like.
If you already know the drug name, you can go directly to the list of medications from the AARP Health Guide home page.
AARP makes it easy to do more research when you’re ready. At the topic of each health-condition article, notice the sentence “More on [health condition] from the National Library of Medicine.” Click there and you have lots more research information at your fingertips.
Now, look at the light blue bar at the top of each page. Clicking on “support group” takes you to organizations listed by the National Self-Help Clearinghouse. Search by the name of your condition to find related organizations. Many can recommend Internet message boards for people who want to share ideas about their condition and treatment.
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In Session 5 we'll learn to use Medline Plus.
All material contained herein is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice or instruction. Consult your health care professional for advice relating to treatment of a medical problem or condition.
