Pediatric Health and Nutrition
Resources on the Internet

The past few years have seen the Internet grow from a resource for academics and researchers to a valuable source of information for the general public. Now, both public and private sector organizations offer information; much of it written for patient-consumers. This information is usually available at no charge, though some require prior registration before the site may be accessed.

In this review of World Wide Web sites, we will provide a sampling of infant nutrition related resources for both health care professionals and parents. Because of the amount of material available, and its changeability, our advisory council could not formally review each item for accuracy. In some cases, sites may quote major authorities, using position statements or guidelines which have since been superseded. Most pages carry an "updated on..." tag giving an indication of the item's recency. In all cases, readers are advised to review any material which they intend to distribute to parents. Reference to sites is provided as a service to our readers and In-Touch can not accept responsibility for validity, pertinence or current status for information sources listed.

Readers are also cautioned to observe copyright restrictions which may apply to reproduction of text for patient distribution. Sites which do not provide information regarding reproduction, usually offer an e-mail address from which such permission may be obtained.

Health Organizations:

American Academy of Pediatrics(www.aap.org) This site includes two areas of interest: Where We Standlists the AAP ‘s position on a range of issues, in language suitable for distribution to parents. The AAP site also has a Parent's Resource Guidelisting books, magazines and videos of interest to parents.

American Medical Association(www.ama-assn.org) This site provides access to an extensive list of Journals including Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

Canadian Medical Association(www.cma.ca) This site includes clinical practice guidelines (click on CMA
CPG) which includes topics of interest to pediatricians. Also included on the site are recently published CMA Health Alerts.

Canadian Pediatric Society(www.cps.ca) This site is
still under construction, but already contains CPS statementsincluding those of the Nutrition Committee.

North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition (www.vtmednet.org.:80/~naspgn) This site contains both patient and professional Information. It also includes a list of over 20 organizations prepared to answer questions and supply information on various gastrointestinal conditions.

Other Nutrition - Related Resources

University of Iowa: Virtual Hospital:

(vh.radiology.uiowa.edu)The Virtual Hospital site includes The Clinician’s Handbook of Preventative Services(click on "Providers" and then "Clinical Practice Guidelines") which was designed to provide a practical, comprehensive "how-to" guide for preventative services. In 60 chapters, it covers a wide range of preventative care, with information on how to obtain patient education materials. These materials are a complement to the U.S. Public Health Service’s "Put Prevention into Practice" campaign.

Healthtouch(www.healthtouch.com) This site contains parent/ patient counselling materials on a number of nutrition related topics, including: Facts About Feeding your Baby; Feeding Newborns; When Should Babies Eat Solid Food? (click on "Health Information") Much of the material at this site has been authored by the American Dietetic Association.

Parents Place:(www.parentsplace.com) This site offers advice for parents from a variety of experts. Most topics are covered on a single page, and are formatted for parent distribution. Medical questions are answered by The Web Doctor, (Dr. Robert Steele, Children’s Hospital Medical Centre, Cincinatti). He answers parents’ questions on many topics related to infant health (click on "Reading Room", and then "Ask the Experts") . A utility which allows readers to search through the long list of past questions makes this Q & A series very useful.

Cincinatti Children’s Hospital Medical Centre: (www.chmcc.org)A wide range of patient counselling materials - only a few are nutrition-related, but the site is a good general resource.

PEDINFO: A Pediatrics WebServer(www.uab.edu/pedinfo) This WebServer is dedicated to the dissemination of on-line information for pediatricians and others interested in child health. The site also includes a listing of resources related to Inborn Errors of Metabolism.

Links to Journal Search Engines

Medscape(www.medscape.com) Search fulltext of articles, or abstracts from Medline’s database. Use requires completion of a form but there is no charge.

National Library of Medicine:(www.nlm.nih.gov)The National Library of Medicine provides a variety of databases. The MEDLARS system includes over 40 online databases containing about 18 million records.

Resources in French for Health Care Professionals

L’ Hôpital Sainte-Justine:http://alize.ere.umontreal.ca/~lamarrea/HSJ/index.html Centre d’information sur la santé de l’enfant (CISE), for french speaking professionnals and parents. Information on over 250 pediatric and health sites on the Internet and self-help groups in maternal and child health in Quebec and in Canada.

Hopitaux De Rouen:(www.chu.fr/dsii/html/servsant.html#univ/) An extensive listing of health resources in France and throughout les pays Francophones. The listing includes bibliothèques médicales, journaux electroniques, des instituts de recherche,, et des serveurs en français.

Réseau interordinateurs scientifique québécois (www.risq.qc.ca/info/frame/rech/rech_frame_01.html)