NIH

From Pharmacy Drug Guide

The NIH, or National Institutes of Health, is a health information organization dedicated to research and public education. Funded by the United States government, the NIH is a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is comprised of 27 distinct concentration areas known as institutes or centers. These centers focus on different areas of the body or specific diseases.^[1]

Contents 1 About NIH 2 NIH Health Information 3 National Institutes of Health Overview 4 NIH Senior Health 5 References

About NIH

In 1887, a laboratory was founded in the Marine Hospital Service to help study diseases carried and transmitted by ocean-bound travelers and merchant seamen. This research expanded over the years into the large National Institutes of Health with a budget of over $31 billion specifically designated for medical research.^[3] Research is performed at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland and in scientific and medical facilities around the country.^[1]

The impact of the NIH reaches far beyond American boundaries. The institute is the largest medical research funding source in the world and is directly responsible for sponsoring scientists and researchers across the globe. These medical scientists work at research institutions, universities and medical centers. More than 6,000 employees work directly for the NIH in their research laboratories.^[1]

In addition to funding research, the NIH sponsors training programs that help support scientific activities and knowledge. This funding is designed to help maintain momentum in medical research for future generations.

NIH maintains a website where the public can find information on a variety of health topics. The site lists diseases and other health issues from A to Z, and visitors may click on their topics of interest to learn detailed analyses about them. In addition, the site provides data from clinical trials, as well as sections devoted to the health of children, teens, men, women, minorities and seniors.^[4]

NIH Health Information

While the NIH is founded on medical research and scientific advancement in the treatment of diseases, it also has a strong mission to educate the American public on health issues. On the NIH website, the public can access information about healthy lifestyles, general health topics, and information about specific conditions.^[4] Additionally, the organization publishes clinical trial information and offers medical information through Medline Plus through their U.S National Library division.^[5] More extensive information is offered through formal NIH publications.^[6]

National Institutes of Health Overview

NIH Senior Health

The NIH has a sister website dedicated to the medical concerns of senior citizens. The NIH Senior Health site allows visitors to browse through health topics from A to Z, and also offers featured topics, personal stories from seniors and an assortment of videos. Users can opt to change font size and color, or listen to spoken audio of the pages instead of reading.

Interested individuals can sign up to receive informative e-mails from the organization, and those who wish to teach seniors how to research health issues online can browse through the Trainer's Toolkit. The site was created by the National Library of Medicine together with the National Institute on Aging, both of which are sectors of NIH.^[7]

Also See: FDA, Patient Assistance Programs, Drug Coupons, Prescription Drugs, Free Drug Samples

References

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} http://www.nih.gov/about/
2. ↑ http://www.nih.gov/about/history.htm
3. ↑ http://www.nih.gov/about/budget.htm
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} http://health.nih.gov/
5. ↑ http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/
6. ↑ http://nihpublications.od.nih.gov/search.aspx
7. ↑ http://nihseniorhealth.gov/