Need Help?
Freely Available Websites
First stops to search conditions, treatments, medications and more using these reliable websites:
- MedlinePlus
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Mayo Clinic use the Health Information drop-down menu to view resources and search by symptom or topic
- World Health Organization
- Merck Manuals Consumer Version Use the resources tab at the top of the page to find images, videos, common medical tests, abbreviations and more
- JAMA Network patient information articles are available by browsing through the complete list or searching with topics or keywords
Health Information in Different Languages
Use these websites to access free health information in different languages:
- MedlinePlus Espanol
- MedlinePlus in Multiple Languages
- EthnoMed for health information in different languages and resources for caring for people of different cultures
- Health Information Translations search by language or topic
- SPIRAL: Selected Patient Information in Asian Languages search by language or by topic
- Question Builder App that allows you to create and save health questions in English or Spanish
Background Research
Below are a few places you can find definitions and encyclopedia articles, just remember that you will have to login with your myNOVA username and password.
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new windowHealth and medicine resources, including informational videos.
- DynaMed This link opens in a new windowA reference tool with clinically-organized summaries for more than 3,200 topics. Look for the Patient Education links in the navigation menus on topic pages.
- Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window(Formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library) includes full-text encyclopedias, handbooks, and other sources for health information.
- Nursing Reference Center Plus This link opens in a new windowClinical resources, including informational videos. Check out the patient education sheets - they often include images and illustrations. You can find them under More, Patient Education or filter your search results for Patient Handouts.
Search Tips
Use broad terms, as encyclopedias usually provide general overviews of topics.
respiratory disease
Use quotation marks ( " " ) around phrases (two or more words); this tells the database to look for the words in a specific order.
"myocardial infarction"