Please note: Some of the sites selected contain information geared for children. The HS/HSL urges parents to preview materials and to remain with your children when they are accessing these materials.

Evaluating information found on the web is very important. The criteria used to choose the following sites may also be of use to you when evaluating any web site. However, you should consult with your physician regarding any information obtained from the web.

Selection Criteria:

1. Sponsorship. The sponsorship of the site should be easily identified and be a credible source such as a government agency (.gov), educational institution (.edu) or medical center or hospital.
   
2. Currency. The site should be updated frequently with the date of the update clearly posted.
   
3. Factual information. Information should be factual and verifiable. If the information represents an opinion, the source should be easily identified.
   
4. Audience. There should be a clear statement of the intended audience (consumer, medical professional).
   
5. Ease of Use. The site should be easy to navigate and be logically organized.

If you have any comments or suggestions, please send an email message to hshsl@umaryland.edu.

Health Sciences and Human Services Library, University of Maryland Children's Health Resources on the Web (in alphabetical order)

• Children's Health - from the Medem Medical Library
  (http://www.medem.com/MedLB/sub_detaillb.cfm?parent_id=10&act=disp)
  
  From a central web site, parents can view patient education information produced by leading medical societies. The content of each entry is rated on a 4-point scale from introductory to advanced levels.
  
  
• FirstGov for Kids: Health
  (http://www.kids.gov/k_health/html)
  
  The Federal Citizen Information Center has gathered links to web sites that contain health-related information written for children. The list is divided into government, organization, education & commercial sites. Also, of interest, is FirstGov for Parents.
  
  
• General Pediatric.com
  (http://generalpediatrics.com)

  This pediatric digital library links to authoritative general pediatric web sites containing information on common pediatric problems. Information for health professionals is available for viewing. Also, includes links to non-evaluated multilingual patient education resources.

• HardinMD: Children's Diseases/Pediatrics
  (http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/hardin/md/ped.html)
  
  The alphabetic list of health topics also notes categories where pictures are available. For additional information, users can scroll down the main screen to find a collection of other web sites categorized into large, medium & small lists.

• healthfinder® kids
  (http://www.healthfinder.gov/kids/)
  
  Developed by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, this site provides health links appropriate for children. For parents & caregivers, it also serves as a "gateway to selected consumer health & human services information resources provided by U.S. Government agencies and other nonprofit health and human services information on the Internet."

• KidsHealth
  (http://www.kidshealth.org)
  
  Created by The Nemours Foundation for Children's Health Media, this web site provides "doctor-approved health information about children from before birth through adolescence." The site is divided into sections for parents, kids, and teens each with appropriate content and tone. It includes information on child development, medical conditions, safety, behavior and much more. A unique feature for parents is the In the News section, which contains up-to-the minute medical information, related to children. Some information is available in Spanish.

• MedlinePlus - Child and Teen Health Topics
  (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/childandteenhealth.html)
  
  Provided by the National Library of Medicine, this web site is an excellent consumer health resource for parents. Once you select a specific health topic from the alphabetic list, you can browse a general overview or specific medical information. Much of the information on this web site has been obtained from federal agencies and professional organizations. Other general health topics within MedlinePlus include Children's Health, Infant & Toddler Health, Teen Health and Child & Teen Health Topics. Parents can also search MEDLINE, the premiere database for biomedical literature, for recent research articles. Some information is available in Spanish.
  
  

Content revised: May 2004