Health Information Week - children's health

Today is the last day of the Northamptonshire Virtual Wellbeing Festival and day 5 of Health Information Week #HIW2023.

Today’s headliner is Gok Wan, who has talked in the past about childhood obesity and bullying. This ties in with the theme for #HIW203 which is Children’s health.

You can access a range of books from the library on various aspects of children’s health, see our catalogue at https://nhft.koha-ptfs.co.uk/

There are also online resources you can access such as:

• Better Health, Healthier Families: https://www.nhs.uk/healthier-families/
  
  
• Young Minds: https://www.youngminds.org.uk/
  
  
• Action for Children: https://www.actionforchildren.org.uk/
  
  
• Podcasts from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health: https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/news-events/podcasts      

Health Information Week - mental health and wellbeing

It is Health Information Week #HIW2023 and today is all about mental health and wellbeing, which ties in nicely with the Northamptonshire Virtual Wellbeing Festival which started on Monday.

Do you know how the library can support your mental health and wellbeing?

•  Leisure collection: find your summer reading here! A mix of fiction (including the virtual book club books) and non-fiction books supported by the Northamptonshire Health Charitable Fund.
  
  
• Your Health collection: includes how to reduce stress, menopause management and using nature for wellbeing.
  
  
• Lots of other books on topics such as managing stress, anxiety, overcoming depression, men’s  health, being happy and wellbeing (both clinical and non-clinical).
  
  
• Games: alternatively why not try a game in a team meeting for a fun and different way to learn? Try the Working stress game or the Teams that care game.

 Find all these on the library catalogue https://nhft.koha-ptfs.co.uk/

Health Information Week - Arthritis

Health Information Week is a national, multi-sector campaign promoting high-quality information for 
patients and the public.

The theme for the final Health Information Week post is all about arthritis, a common condition that causes pain and inflammation in a joint that affects around 10 million people in the UK.

There are lots of good quality online resources aimed at patients and the public focused on understanding and living with arthritis. 

• NHS UK: Arthritis  www.nhs.uk/conditions/arthritis/
• The Patient website information on different types of arthritis: https://patient.info/bones-joints-muscles/arthritis
• Versus Arthritis are the main UK charity supporting people living with arthritis and they have lots of information on their web site which you can find here www.versusarthritis.org/

You can find a complete list of resources, including more links and a suggested reading list on the Health Information Week web site here.

We hope you have found our posts for Health Information Week useful. Remember NHFT and NGH staff can always contact one of the libraries if you are looking for good quality information to support your patients.

Health Information Week - Heart Healthy

Health Information Week is a national, multi-sector campaign promoting high-quality information for 
patients and the public.

The theme for today's Health Information Week post is all about keeping the heart healthy.

There are lots of good quality online resources aimed at patients and the public focused on maintaining a healthy heart. Here are a selection:

General web sites

• British Health Foundation: www.bhf.org.uk/
• NHS Health Check: What's your heart age? www.nhs.uk/conditions/nhs-health-check/check-your-heart-age-tool/
• NHS: Cardiovascular disease: www.nhs.uk/conditions/cardiovascular-disease/

Diet and weight

• British Heart Foundation: Managing your weight: www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/support/healthy-living/managing-your-weight
• HeartUK: Easy ways to eat healthily: www.heartuk.org.uk/healthy-living/introduction
• The Association of UK Dietitians: Heart Health: Food Fact Sheet: www.bda.uk.com/resource/heart-health.html

You can find a complete list of resources, including more links covering exercise and risk factors for heart disease on the Health Information Week web site here.

Health Information Week - Media Literacy

Health Information Week is a national, multi-sector campaign promoting high-quality information for
patients and the public.

The theme for today's Health Information Week post is all about media literacy. 

How do we know what health news we can trust and do we know if it is accurate? This is a key health issue with the rise of social media and these media literacy resources aim to give patients the skills to make these judgements.

Checking the news yourself

• FactCheck: How to spot fake news (video) www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkwWcHekMdo
• Full Fact: Fact checking toolkit https://fullfact.org/toolkit/

Health news already checked

• Full Fact: Health https://fullfact.org/health/all/
• Health Feedback: https://healthfeedback.org/
• BBC Reality Check (not just health news): www.bbc.co.uk/news/reality_check

Sharing news and social media

• UK Government: Share Checklist https://sharechecklist.gov.uk/
• Poynter Institute: 10 tips for verifying viral social media videos www.poynter.org/fact-checking/2018/10-tips-for-verifying-viral-social-media-videos/ 

We have also updated our guide to good quality sources of information for patients which you can find on our web site here.

You can find a complete list of resources around media literacy with more links and including games and activities for children on the Health Information Week web site here.

Health Information Week 2022 - Kidney Health

Health Information Week is a national, multi-sector campaign promoting high-quality information for 
patients and the public.

The theme for today's Health Information Week post is all about kidney health.

The main job of the kidneys is to cleanse the blood of toxins and transform the waste into urine. When the kidneys are not working properly, harmful toxins and excess fluids build up in the body, which may cause the symptoms of kidney failure.

There are lots of good quality resources for patients aimed at helping to keep the kidneys healthy and functioning properly.

General information:

• The kidneys basic guide: ww.nhs.uk/Livewell/Kidneyhealth/Documents/kidney%20guide.pdf
• Kidney Care UK: www.kidneycareuk.org/

For children and parents

• Info KID www.infokid.org.uk/ 

Diet and Nutrition

• Kidney care cook book www.kidneyresearchuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Kidney-Care-Cook-Book.pdf
• Kidney Care UK YouTube channel: includes recipes, kitchen skills, and advise from renal nutritionists www.youtube.com/channel/UCeqQTdAsEzXphqjHVtcTD-A

You can find a complete list of kidney resources, including more links, books and videos on the Health Information Week web site here.

Health Information Week 2022 - Your Health Collection

Health Education England (NHS) and The Reading Agency have worked in partnership to bring  together this new list to support users of health and prison libraries to understand and manage their health. 

The theme of the collection focuses on supporting better general health, such as ageing well, menopause, men’s health, life as a trans person and better mental wellbeing. 

The books and resources have been chosen with the various communities involved for individuals to use themselves or to help them understand someone else’s health issues.

Copies of the 10 books can be found in each library - Berrywood Library, Isebrook Library and the Richmond Library at Northampton General Hospital (you will need to be a library member to borrow them, but you can join online). You can see the list on our catalogue here. 

As well as the print books there are also 30 digital resources freely available via the Health Education England web site which includes information on how to prepare for a health consultation, easy read health resources on a range of health conditions, personal stories about what it’s like to live with a health condition and living well with long-term health conditions.

All the online tools are free to access. They include websites, podcasts, and YouTube clips.

The full collection is available online at library.nhs.uk/yhc/

Health Information Week 2022 - Long Covid

Health Information Week is a national, multi-sector campaign promoting high-quality information for

patients and the public.

The theme for today's Health Information Week post is all about living with Long Covid. 

There are a lot of good quality resources available to support patients and their families living with the burden of long Covid available online.

General web sites

• Your Covid Recovery www.yourcovidrecovery.nhs.uk/
• Long Covid Kids www.longcovidkids.org/
• Long Covid Support www.longcovid.org/

Patient Information

• SIGN, NICE and the Royal College of General Practitioners: Covid: a booklet for people who have signs and symptoms that continue or develop after acute Covid-19  www.sign.ac.uk/media/1825/sign-long-covid-patient-booklet-v2.pdf
• Royal College of Occupational Therapists: How to manage post-viral fatigue after Covid-19 www.rcot.co.uk/node/3540 (produced by the )
• NHS: Long-term effects of coronavirus (long COVID) www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/long-term-effects-of-coronavirus-long-covid/
• Patient Info has lots of different articles on long Covid https://patient.info/search.asp?searchTerm=long+covid&collections=All

You can find a complete list of resources, including more links, books and podcasts on the Health Information Week web site here.

Health Information Week 2022

Health Information Week is a national, multi-sector campaign promoting high-quality information for
patients and the public.

High quality health information can have a huge impact on people’s ability to stay healthy and manage illnesses effectively, giving them a better quality of life.

Throughout the week we will be posting blogs and tweeting about the themes from this year's event.

The libraries have access to a number of resources that can provide high quality information that clinicians can use with their patients.

For example Clinical Key has a huge variety of evidence-based patient education materials available. Staff at Northampton General also have access to UpToDate which also contains a large volume of materials for patients. To access either of these you'll need your OpenAthens account (and if you don't have one, register online here).

Both of these resources provide the materials in lots of different languages making them accessible to everyone.

You can also find a list of other health resources in translation on the Health Information Week website.