Quality of Care, Tips

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has gathered a wide array of baseline data and tools to help monitor the status of local safety nets in providing health care to low-income and other vulnerable populations. Topics include local data collection strategies, mapping of safety net resources, conducting surveys, and presenting information to policymakers. Information is available online or in print format by calling the AHRQ Publications Clearinghouse at 800-358-9295

Every Sound Partners project has an opportunity to place their ongoing reporting on health issues into a meaningful context by building permanent Web resource centers such as FAQs, primers and timelines. With just a bit of imagination and creativity, you can take home key concepts by reading an article by Dan Froomkin of The Washington Post. He extolls the in-depth knowledge obtained by "beat reporters," (such as Health Reporters) over the long haul of covering "chronic stories" (those stories that just won't go away or that unfold over extended periods of time). Froomkin says that good context reporting can stick around on the Web in an "evergreen" package. Don't be put off by his newspaper-based examples or the tension between the newsroom and online producers that exists in print journalism. Remember that we maximize our results through our media and community partnerships.

This nicely organized and clearly written guide provides information on: doctors and nurses, checkups, tests, and immunizations, growth and development, your child in the world, a list of resource organizations, and checklists to keep track of immunizations, checkups, and the like. Developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Poynter Online's Jonathan Dube profiles the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma in his weekly column. He writes, "Between the Iraq war, ongoing terrorism threats and everyday stories of violence, all reporters should know how to cover traumatic events." The Tips & Tools section has tip sheets for journalists covering violence, trauma, or mental health issues. Great links to other resources and self-paced learning modules are also available.

This summer's newsletter focuses on the power and responsibility of visual journalism. Read additional articles on TV and political cartoons plus links to photojournalism tools and an interactive case study exercise "ripped from real life."

What makes news local? Stories about local people, of course. Read what else Don Fry of the Poynter Institute writes about the topic. Although he addresses newspapers, most of it applies to broadcast programs.

The Public Journalism Network Web site is highlighting instructors with new ways of teaching public journalism. Check it out and get in contact with Leonard Witt at Lwitt@kennesaw.edu if you are one of those creative profs with a class to share. (Source: Civic Journalism Interest Group)

This evidence-based report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality was developed by Johns Hopkins University to help hospitals evaluate their disaster training drills, identify strengths and weaknesses in their responses during a disaster drill, and improve their ability to fulfill required emergency management plans.

The Harvard School of Public Health has launched an expanded version of its cancer risk assessment Web site to include other diseases. The revised version allows users to easily evaluate their risk of experiencing five types of diseases: heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, and 12 kinds of cancer. Preventive information is also on the site and is based on the risk assessment results.

The Modern Language Association's Language Map displays the locations
and approximate numbers of speakers of the 30 languages most commonly
spoken in the United States. Any search you perform will include a list of all languages spoken in the state, ranked by number of speakers using 2000 Census data. For example, more than 19 million people in California speak English; nearly 12.5 million speak languages other than English. Spanish speakers (more than 8 million) lead the list and Navajo speakers round out the list with about 1800 speakers across the state.