3. CBC Health
While you won't be able to ask a specialist or search for your symptoms on this site, there is still a lot to learn here. CBC Health focuses on news, so if you need to know if the rumours about a malaria alert in the Dominican Republic are true, this is the place to find out the truth. The site is updated several times a day so if the story broke this morning, you may not even have to wait until the afternoon before it shows up on this website. The in-depth features, on such topics as fighting the flu and banning trans fats, are timely and laid out well. There is a lot of information in each feature but articles are concise and easy to find so you won't feel overwhelmed as you attempt to get through it all.
4. New England Journal of Medicine
When straight-up, plain talk won't do, head to the New England Journal of Medicine site for the detailed doctor-language version of health reports and news. The best thing about this site is that it's very current, and the information comes straight from the doctor's mouth. This site is essentially a journal for medical professionals so keeping it simple doesn't really apply here. Current concepts and clinical implications of basic research are full of medical terms, but if you can weave through them, you'll find lots of important information. And the perspective pieces have a different outlook on topics making news, like debates about umbilical cord blood banks as a result of the increased popularity of stem-cell research.
5. Canadian Health Network
For a Canadian perspective on health-related issues, head here. The site is set up like an online magazine with feature stories covering a range of compelling subjects. Health topics are handily divided by group -- men, women, elderly, people with disabilities, aboriginal peoples, children and youth. This is particularly helpful because each group often faces different health issues and reacts in different ways. Click on the site map for easier access to the information you need and access four different methods for finding resources on the site. The Canadian Health Network is a Public Health site, working in collaboration with Health Canada and other health organizations at provincial and national levels. The site is completely bilingual and it offers links to more than 17,000 English and French-Canadian health resources on the Web.
