An Exploration of Cyberspace: Ten Linkroll Additions

This week I continue my exploration of cyberspace in search of exceptional resources aimed toward my topic of interest; health care issues in the Latin American and Hispanic communities. This post will serve as an evaluation of the ten new items I have added to my linkroll. These evaluations will be based on criteria per Webby Awards and Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA).

As an extension of a larger website, the Latino resources web page of the Alzheimer's Association satisfies many of the criterion listed by both Webby and IMSA. The content, both educational and engaging, is accompanied with interactive features such as, "What's Happening to Grandpa?". This allows for a comprehensive look at the growing incidence of Alzheimer's in the Latino community. The Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities, which is a partner of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (pictured on the right), presents a website that is, although informative and educational, visually lacking. The site offers several web pages for various minority groups, including Latinos. Every web page includes helpful links to fact sheets about prevalent diseases in each subsequent community. The Hispanic Dental Association web site offers several useful links and resources concerning dental hygiene in both English and Spanish. Unfortunately, the site could be aesthetically more pleasing in terms of navigation (i.e. the hyperlinks are poorly organized and can be misleading). One benefit of exploring an organization's web site is that it allows the visitor to explore the possibility of becoming more involved in the cause by applying for membership. The Hispanic Health Council, which boasts more than 25 years of serving the community, definitely has the credentials to put forth an effective web site. Unfortunately, the lackluster appearance and rather boring design overpowers the interesting studies presented. Through much navigation and frustrated exploration, the Latino Health Institute website came up short in terms of relevant information. The less than interactive design of the site made the overall experience unmemorable. Like many of the websites on this list, Medline Plus provides a Latin American web page in conjunction with their main website. The large array of useful links including healthy Latino recipes and recently updated "Current News" section redeems the average looking design of the site. Once getting passed the overwhelming amount of graphics on the homepage, the National Alliance for Hispanic Health site was surprisingly well developed. The site presents excellent, as well as up to date, resources (i.e. Health News). The National Latino Behavioral Health Association provides useful information and links to outside sources. The fact that it has not been updated for two years hinders the effectiveness of the site. The unappealing page layout/design would also benefit from an update. Salud En Accion displays some excellent publications that are helpful in understanding public health promotion and health research among Hispanic populations. They offer a long list of scientific articles, which are relevant and useful in understanding the aforementioned fields. The Latino Organization for Liver Awareness website exhibits useful information for those seeking resources on diseases affecting the liver. They also have an updated list of support group meetings. The main problem with this site is the lack of links in sections such as the "Resources" tab.

After last week's frustrating episode searching for blogs, I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of helpful websites dedicated to the health concerns of the Latin American and Hispanic communities. I look forward to implementing these sites along with others in future posts.