PlaneTree Health Library-Senior Health

Seniors' Health

MEDLINEplus Senior Health: Comprehensive information from an authoritative source: the National Institutes of Health and the National Library of Medicine. Includes links to latest news and general overviews of seniors' health and research, specific conditions, prevention and screening, organizations, statistics and more.

Administration on Aging: Part of the US Department of Health and Human Services. The site provides older individuals, caregivers, community service providers, and researchers with a " ...comprehensive overview of a wide variety of topics, programs and services related to aging." Eldercare, Elder Abuse Housing, Nutrition, statistics, AoA Fact Sheets and many other related subjects and Resources can be found on this site.

FirstGov for Seniors Health Section: This site provides access to all government agencies that provide services for seniors (for example, Social Security, Medicare and Veterans Affairs). The idea is for seniors to be able to search for government information and programs that meet their needs without having to know the name of the agency responsible for that service. For instance, on the "General Health Resources" page, there are links to Medicare's "Participating Physician Directory" and "Prescription Drug Assistance Programs" information as well as FDA and other government (and some non-governmental organizations) consumer guides targeted toward seniors.

Health Guide from the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP): Short, easy-to-read articles on a variety of topics of interest to seniors, including fitness, prevention, insurance and Medicare and care giving.

Healthfinder Information for Seniors: Links to hundreds of articles, guides, reference sources created by federal agencies on topics including aging, Alzheimer's, cancer, eldercare, heart disease, independent living, long term care and more.

Mayo Clinic: Senior Health Center: A wide range of articles on health and aging from an internationally recognized authority.

Medicare: Nursing Home Compare: Provides detailed information about the past performance of every Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing home in the United States, including inspection result information. In English and Spanish.

Merck Manual of Geriatrics: Medical Texts: A free full-text geriatric care manual, this 3rd edition (Fall 2000) includes information ranging from health care funding and quality of life to injuries, diseases and care issues as they particularly effect seniors. Chapters on diseases typically cover symptoms and diagnostic tests, causes and treatment choices and complications.

NIHSeniorHealth.gov: NIH Senior Health is a website based on the latest research on senior health and aging. Features a "talking" function, which gives users the option of reading the text or listening to it.

NOAH (New York Online Access to Health): Aging: is produced by librarians from major New York City libraries. Its mission is to provide access to high quality full-text consumer health information in English and Spanish that is accurate, timely, relevant and unbiased. This section includes links to articles that define aging and the physiological changes it brings about. Also links to information about diseases, caregiving, research, statistics and more.

Third Age: A site for older adults (the third age follows youth and the middle age) offering an online community for exploration of health and lifestyle issues through web site resources, community forums, chat rooms, personal stories and their own archives. Contains a marketplace of retail items (from books and cards to the gourmet items) and services (travel services, classifieds, real estate).