Looking for health information online

The New York Times had an article today about where to look for health information online and the dangers of hysterical hypochondria and subtle misinformation. Many of us want to research our own health issues before visiting our doctor, and the Internet can be a great source of information. But it is important to weed through the special interests and the hype to reach more objective information. Today's article points the reader to some good sources to get past the hype.

Does this campaign go too far?

A campaign by the New York University Child Study Center to raise awareness of the silent public health epidemic of child mental health illness is getting people's attention and raising eyebrows. The campaign uses billboards and advertisements depict ominous threats about depression, autism, obsessive-compulsive disorder, Asperger's syndrome and bulimia. For example, the autism ad reads: "We have your son. We will make sure he will no longer be able to care for himself or interact socially as long as he lives." The idea is to raise awareness of how mental health illness "kidnaps" millions of children. See an article in The New York Times here: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/business/media/14adco.html?ex=1355374800&en=8bf0e7a608ccac2b&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

But some are concerned that these ads go too far. Some worry that these ads only further stigmatize these illnesses. Others are concerned the ads cast the young people who live with these illnesses in a negative light, that these young people are trapped, when families spend so much time trying to emphasize the things people with these illnesses can achieve.

But these ads are getting people's attention and they are getting people talking about mental illness. Isn't that the idea? Or is this the wrong way to get people talking?

Text messaging for your health

I'm still catching up on articles from the Thanksgiving holiday, but this article from The Wall Street Journal caught my attention http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119551720462598532.html#. Drug companies and other health services are sending health information to patients by text message. Of course, there are limitations to what information you can convey in a brief text message. You can't get into the details of a diagnosis. But you can send a message to a patient to remind him to take his pills. Or a patient could ask a question and receive a text message answer about how to adjust insulin for eating at a party or what to do when a condom breaks. It is, above all, imperative that this information be accurate and understandable (especially in abbreviated text language). But as more people embrace text-messaging technology this may be another avenue to access health information and get quick and accurate answers to emerging health questions.