Designed to help both ill and healthy consumers better manage health decisions, Internet-based consumer health resources are also a useful resource for public health practitioners. High quality and authoritative consumer health websites are an excellent source of easy to read information on diseases, interventions and support services. Four of the best are listed below, along with a new consumer health search engine.

• Medline Plus
  
• Medline Plus en español
  Medline Plus, a service of the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, is the preeminent online consumer health resource. The website provides coverage on over 700 conditions, diseases and wellness topics, drugs and supplements, and includes a medical encyclopedia, medical dictionary, and directories of health providers and associations. Interactive tutorials, easy-to-read documents, and material for low-vision users are also available.
  
  
• MayoClinic
  The Mayo Clinic is renowned for its dedication to the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Their accessible “Tools for Healthier Lives” website provides information on a wide range of diseases and conditions, a symptom checker, first aide guide, guides to treatment decisions, and health tools
  
  
• FamilyDoctor.org
• FamilyDoctor.org en español
  FamilyDoctor.org is a service of the American Academy of Family Physicians. In addition to providing coverage on many health conditions, the website includes a Smart Patient Guide, Over-the-Counter Guide, and health tips and tools. The Search by Symptom Feature allows health consumers to utilize a symptom flow chart that indicates potential treatment options. Many of the consumer oriented articles link to open access articles in the ejournal “American Family Physician.”
  
  
• KidsHealth
• KidsHealth en español
  Created by The Nemours Foundation's Center for Children's Health Media, KidsHealth provides health information about children from before birth through adolescence. The website it divided into three separate sections, for parents, kids and teens, and includes a wealth of interactive modules, printouts, and activities.
  
  
• Healia.com
  Helia.com beta is new to the consumer health scene and is still in the process of final development. The result of a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award from the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, this search engine is designed to find authoritative, high quality online health information. Search results can be filtered according to gender, age, heritage (African, Asian, Hispanic, Native), and reading level. Why not try out Healia and provide its creators with feedback on this beta release?