Online Open Peer-Review Journals Growing

The Public Library of Science (PLoS), a not-for-profit organization based in San Francisco, publishes peer-reviewed, open access scientific and medical journals (PLoS Biology, PLoS Medicine, PLoS Computational Biology, PLoS Genetics, PLoS Pathogens, PLoS Clinical Trials,PLoS Clinical Trials, PLoS ONE, PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases) that include original research as well as timely feature articles. All PLoS articles are immediately freely accessible online, are deposited in the free public archive PubMed Central, and can be redistributed and reused according to the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. Research articles are accessible at no cost, but authors are charged to publish in the online journal. After research is published, colleagues can rate the work based on quality, originality and other factors. Comments cannot be posted anonymously, and reviewers cannot alter the paper, which becomes part of the public record and is archived.

Health Care Costs for Undocumented Immigrants

According to a RAND study published in the journal Health Affairs, health care for undocumented immigrants between ages 18 and 64 cost the U.S. $1.1 billion in 2000, or about $11 per taxpayer household. Researchers used data from a 2000 survey of 2,543 adults in 65 Los Angeles County neighborhoods. The study excluded children and seniors.

Citation: Dana P. Goldman, James P. Smith and Neeraj Sood. "Immigrants And The Cost Of Medical Care." Health Affairs, 25, no. 6 (2006): 1700-1711. http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi/content/full/25/6/1700

Pew Online Health Search Survey Findings

Pew Internet: Online Health Search 2006 survey findings show that two-thirds of adults begin their Internet search for health information by accessing a search engine. Three-quarters of Internet users say they check the source and date "only sometimes," "hardly ever," or "never." This means that roughly 85 million Americans gather health advice online without consistently evaluating the information they find.

More information can be found online at http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/190/report_display.asp

The Medical Library Association provides links to their top ten health Websites and advice on finding up-to-date, credible health information at http://www.mlanet.org/resources/consumr_index.html?focus_20061102

Snapshot: California’s Uninsured

California HealthCare Foundation's annual report Snapshot: California’s Uninsured 2006 (4th edition) examines health coverage through various factors including: coverage sources and trends; employer size and type; likelihood of coverage by ethnicity, age, and income; and uninsured rates for noncitizens.

Find more information at http://www.chcf.org/topics/healthinsurance/index.cfm?itemID=126257

Assessing Disease Risks

Harvard Center for Cancer Prevention's Your Disease Risk http://www.yourdiseaserisk.harvard.edu/ allows users to to calculate their risks of developing 12 different cancers, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and osteoporosis. The website also creates a customized action plan demonstrating how changes in lifestyle habits could affect a person's disease risks.