Web Sites Worth Watching
Abstract
In collaboration with the staff of the APA library, Psychiatric Services offers a monthly listing of mental-health-related Web sites and other sites of interest. The list will change monthly as new sites are identified, existing sites add new features, and different categories of sites are included. We'd like maintaining the list to be an interactive process, so tell us about your favorite sites or what you'd like to be able to find on the Web. You can reach us by e-mail at [email protected].
Associations
Psychiatric Society for Informatics—www.psych.med.umich.edu/ web/psi
Promotes the understanding and use of informatics and information technology in psychiatry. The site includes membership details, a newsletter, and an interactive listserve.
Academy for Eating Disorders—www.acadeatdis.org/
This multidisciplinary professional organization focuses on anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and related disorders. Its site includes a calendar, membership information, an on-line newsletter, and position statements of the association.
Journals
PSYCHE—psyche.cs.monash.edu.au/
This refereed electronic journal is dedicated to supporting the interdisciplinary exploration of the nature of consciousness and its relation to the brain. It publishes perspectives from the disciplines of cognitive science, philosophy, psychology, physics, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence. Interdisciplinary discussions are particularly encouraged.
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior—www.envmed.rochester.edu/wwwrap/behavior/jeab/jeabhome.htm
Focuses primarily on the original publication of experiments relevant to the behavior of individual organisms. In addition to abstracts and selected full-text reprints of articles, the site offers an audio presentation of B. F. Skinner's one-minute description of operant conditioning.
Featured Site
Centre for Evidence-Based Mental Health—cebmh.warne.ox.ac.uk/cebmh
The Centre for Evidence-Based Mental Health is a collaborative project of the department of psychiatry of the University of Oxford and the British National Health Service. Its goal is to link mental health research to practice by promoting and teaching optimum application of available research evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients.
The center's Web site includes full-text articles selected from the quarterly journal Evidence-Based Mental Health, which features abstracts of recent research originally published in a range of mental health periodicals.
Links to the clinical practice guidelines issued by the Royal College of Psychiatrists and other sources of clinical guidelines are provided. The site's tool kit for evidence-based practice includes exercises in formulating a clinical question to guide a literature search, locating findings, and appraising and acting on the evidence. A glossary of terms used in evidence-based mental health practice is also provided.
Government
U.S. Public Health Service—phs.os.dhhs.gov/phs/phs.html
This site provides information about the duties of the U.S. Surgeon General, links to government agencies that deal with public health, lists of job opportunities in the Department of Health and Human Services, and details on Public Health Service support activities.
Medical
Yale Center for Medical Informatics—ycmi.med.yale.edu/
Focuses on the creative use of computers in clinical medicine, biology, biomedical research, and medical education. Sections include information on the staff and projects of the center, as well as its postgraduate fellowship.
Health News
Men's Health Issues—medic.med.uth.tmc.edu/ptnt/00000391.htm
Current topics include exercise for a healthy heart, fat and cholesterol, prostatic cancer screening, and benign prostatic hyperplasia.
Other Useful Resources
Internet Mental Health—www.mentalhealth.com/
Aimed at professionals, patients, families, and the general public, the site provides general information and shares international perspectives on topics ranging from common disorders to medication to research funding.
National Committee for Quality Assurance—www.ncqa.org
With sections aimed at consumers, employers, government agencies, health care providers, and researchers, this site summarizes accreditation standards and describes quality improvement activities and measurement instruments.
APA Web Sites
American Psychiatric Association—www.psych.org
Currently includes the full text of the APA Handbook for the Development of Public Managed Care Systems.
American Psychiatric Publishing Group—www.psychiatryonline.org
The extended free trial period allows users to read full-text versions of recent issues of the American Journal of Psychiatry and Psychiatric Services.
American Psychiatric Press, Inc.—www.appi.org
Features tables of contents and abstracts of current and back issues of APA and APPI journals.
