Time again for our Website of the Week, when we showcase interesting and innovative online destinations.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has long been an authoritative resource for professionals like physicians and public health workers, and the CDC's Janice Nall says that's still an important part of the mission of their website, CDC.gov.
NALL: "There is a huge amount of original reporting of science data that results from studies: statistics, data, translating that data into practice for physicians and healthcare practitioners."
But now the CDC is using the Web to make itself a go-to place for ordinary people who want health information they can trust, so CDC.gov is making more material available in language that non-specialists can understand.
NALL: "Certainly not everything is translated [into lay language] yet, but it is a high priority to make sure that our materials do become translated for audiences that are not in the profession themselves. But we're just in the infancy in doing that and will continue to do so."
Much of the information on the site is available in Spanish as well as English, and they've also recently introduced podcasts.
NALL: "We are very much trying to go in the direction of providing content in multiple formats, so be it mobile, be it video, audio — how people want it, so they can get the information how, when and where they want to receive it."
Other features worth checking out include email updates, the endlessly-fascinating Public Health Image Library, and a virtual encyclopedia ranging from AIDS to zoster.
There's a major update in the works planned for next month, with better organization and enhanced features. But don't wait til then to check out the Centers for Disease Control at CDC.gov, or get the link from our site, voanews.com.
