Highlight HEALTH

As 2007 comes to a close, I would like to thank you for your readership. Just over one year ago, I launched two websites, Highlight HEALTH and the Highlight HEALTH Web Directory. Here at Highlight HEALTH, my goal was to write about biomedical research I found interesting and to make it easier for people to understand research findings, empowering them to have more productive discussions with their physicians and to make informed decisions about healthcare. The Highlight HEALTH Web Directory is my endeavor to catalog and make available health-related websites I find to be informative and useful. More recently, I’ve also started writing about Web 2.0 in Health, Fitness and Medicine, and plan to publish a series of review articles on a number of health-focused social networks.

This past month, I started the Highlight HEALTH Network, an aggregation of content from both sites to allow readers to keep up with the latest articles on Highlight HEALTH and the newest additions to the Highlight HEALTH Web Directory, all from a single source.

Here are the most popular articles for 2007 (top 20 based on the number of page views/number of days posted):

1. The Highlight HEALTH Network RSS Dashboard Widget
2. Smoking Cessation Timeline: What Happens When You Quit
3. Dichloroacetate Not Ready for Therapeutic Use
4. The Highlight HEALTH Network
5. New Common Cold Virus Variant Deadly
6. Common Therapy for Prostate Cancer May Promote Metastasis
7. Overweight Kids and TV: An Advertising Epidemic
8. Saline Nasal Irrigation More Effective than Spray for Chronic Sinus Symptoms
9. Pediatric Grand Rounds 2.8
10. The Genetics of Panic Disorder
11. Smoking Duration vs. Intensity and the Impact on Lung Cancer Risk
12. Social Networks and Health - The Research and the Reviews
13. Quercetin
14. American Obesity Rate Levels Off
15. Biodegradable Polymers for Drug and Gene Delivery
16. Individual Genetics, Coffee Consumption, BRCA1 and Breast Cancer
17. The Flu, Your Health and the Importance of Vaccination
18. SCHIP Funding and Fiscal Irresponsibility
19. DNA Amplification by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)
20. Sinus Congestion

Thank you and Best of Health in the coming year!

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Just in time for the holidays, Highlight HEALTH and the Highlight HEALTH Web Directory now offer an aggregated news feed.

The Highlight HEALTH Network is currently an aggregation of content from two news feeds:

• Highlight HEALTH
• The Highlight HEALTH Web Directory: New Additions

The aggregation of both feeds allows readers to easily keep up with the latest articles on Highlight HEALTH and the newest additions to the Highlight HEALTH Web Directory. You can subscribe to the Highlight HEALTH Network via RSS or email.

Do you currently subscribe to feeds on either Highlight HEALTH or the Highlight HEALTH Web Directory? Not to worry … these single feeds will continue uninterrupted. However, by subscribing to the Highlight HEALTH Network, you can stay up-to-date with new articles and websites, all from a single source.

Here’s some highlights of recent articles on Highlight HEALTH:

Here’s some highlights of recent additions to the Highlight HEALTH Web Directory. Hint: click on the category title to see all the websites currently listed.

Next up: plans to add a third feed to the Highlight HEALTH Network, which will include articles and reviews on Web 2.0 in Health, Fitness and Medicine from the Highlight HEALTH Web Directory.

Happy Holidays!

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I’ve been increasingly interested in health-focused social networks. Why? Because several recent scientific studies have found that real-life social networks are quite relevant to health. Indeed, a study published earlier this year in the New England Journal of Medicine evaluated a large social network of over 12,000 people over 32 years to assess the person-to-person spread of obesity [1]. The study results suggest that friends, siblings and spouses have an even greater effect on a person’s risk of obesity than genetics.

What’s interesting is that this type of research is being done now, when the use of web 2.0 services facilitating collaboration and sharing between users on the internet is thriving. We’re witnessing an explosion of social networking sites, many of which are focused on health.

Social Networks and Health

I’ve published an article titled Social Networks and Health over at the Highlight HEALTH Web Directory. It describes some of the recent scientific studies on social networks and health, and discusses web 2.0 in healthcare and medicine.

More and more websites are tapping into the “wisdom of crowds” to collect health information and give advice. I believe these online social networks affect patients in much the same way as real-life social networks. Some 9.9 million consumers, in addition to reading weblogs, regularly post health information online and learn from each other [2]. People are clearly using these tools, and it’s my intention over the coming months to write a series of review articles describing the websites, what they have to offer and how they can affect your health. Check out Social Networks and Health for more information.

But what good are the reviews if we don’t understand the concepts? Several prominent bloggers will be guest posting and introduce us to Health 2.0, Fitness 2.0 and Medicine 2.0. I’ve created a page on the Highlight HEALTH Web Directory to index articles that discuss Web 2.0 in Health, Fitness and Medicine. I’ll post updates there when new content is added. You can navigate to it using the left-most grey menu button “Health and Medicine 2.0” at the top of every page on the directory.

In the spirit of web 2.0 and collaboration, I’m also looking for guest writers who are interested in writing a review of a social health network. Is there a specific site you visit regularly? Tell us about it in a review. This is a great opportunity to introduce yourself to a new audience and to share your thoughts and insights. I’ll treat each review as a guest post, with links back to your blog or website. I’ll also be writing about the reviews here at Highlight HEALTH.

Additional resources related to web 2.0 and health can be found in the following Highlight HEALTH Web Directory categories: Health 2.0, Medicine 2.0, Fitness 2.0, Health Search and Weblogs.

UPDATE: Instead of a page to index articles, I’ve started a blog, Highlight HEALTH 2.0, which is hosted at the Highlight HEALTH Web Directory. You can read more about it here.

References

1. Christakis and Fowler. The spread of obesity in a large social network over 32 years. N Engl J Med. 2007 Jul 26;357(4):370-9. Epub 2007 Jul 25.

   View abstract
2. Forecasting the Future: Consumers 2010. Manhattan Research.

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