100 Essential Online Public Health Resources

One of the pioneers in public health, C.E.A. Winslow, defined the field as “the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals.” Today, the field has grown and evolved significantly. The number of different organizations and resources dealing with public health issues is staggering. Regardless, we here at MasterofPublicHealth.org endeavored to bring you the best online resources in the field, covering everything from chronic diseases to mental health issues. These 100 sites, not listed in order of rank, all serve as fantastic resources for students, professionals, and anyone simply interested in learning more about a public health issue.

Chronic Disease

Chronic diseases are some of the biggest public health concerns of the current century. Cancer, diabetes, and heart disease are among the costliest and most fatal ailments, and their incidence is growing. Related afflictions, such as cigarette, alcohol, and drug addiction are also considered major public health issues. Obesity, which contributes to both heart disease and diabetes, is reaching epidemic proportions in the U.S. as well. Without comprehensive efforts to curb all of these issues at the population level, the chronic disease burden in the U.S. will become uncontrollable. The following is a list of blogs and websites made by individuals and professional organizations dedicated to spreading information and taking action to stem the growth of chronic disease and other public health issues.

Cancer

  1. Prevent Cancer: Blog

    A blog dedicated to topics addressing cancer prevention. They cover healthy eating, exercise, drug abstinence, and other topics in their education blog posts.

  2. Breast Cancer? But Doctor… I Hate Pink!

    This is a blog recording the life of one woman’s journey with breast cancer, attempting to do so in a humorous way. She addresses her suspicion to diagnosis to treatment, and what it is like to live a Stage IV life style.

  3. The Kids & Brian: Living! after cancer

    A blog written by a man who lost his wife to cancer, and is now raising their three children. They cover day-to-day life topics, such as the first mother’s day without their mother, and the one year anniversary of when she passed. It’s a great support blog for families going through the same circumstance.

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Diabetes

  1. Get Up and Get Moving

    Feeling the need to get healthy? This blog records the inspiring story of one woman who lost 100 pounds and found herself. Through disease prevention she was able to considerably improve her battle with diabetes.

  2. Six Until Me

    A blog written by Kerri Morrone Sparling, this website explains how diabetes can be a part of your life, yet how you don’t need it to define you. Writing in first person, Kerri discusses the challenges of having diabetes, in addition to how to maintain your health.

  3. Diabetes Mine

    This is an informational website created by and for patients with diabetes, or as they say, a “diabetes newspaper with a personal twist.” Publications include information on advocacy, research, products, interviews, and guest posts.

  4. Blogging Diabetes

    As a blog dedicated to helping others learn about living with diabetes, it contains articles and podcasts about people’s own experiences with diabetes. Through this information you can gain knowledge and keep control of your own diabetes.

  5. Without Envy

    Written from a parent’s point of view, this website is about raising a child with type 1 diabetes. It encourages parents to help their children through diabetes, teaching them how to live life to the fullest.

  6. D and the Guy

    Addressing how to deal with diabetes, this blog will inform you about diabetes diets and medication. The answers to all questions dealing with diabetes can be found in this blog’s entries.

  7. Scott’s Diabetes

    Blog entries on Scott’s Diabetes are written from the perspective of a man who has been struggling with type 1 diabetes since 1980. Through his entries he recognizes the mental struggle of living with diabetes, and how to cope with that struggle.

  8. Diabetes Talk Fest

    This blog is written from a woman’s perspective of having diabetes. She’s a diabetes advocate and her blog entries cover a wide range of topics including insulin, graphic design, video games, and more.

  9. Diabetties

    According to this blog, a diabetty is “a strong, independent woman, who doesn’t let her diabetes get in the way of living life to the fullest.” The blog entries published here are encouraging notes meant for women living with diabetes.

  10. dlife

    This blog is everything diabetes. With topics ranging from food, to insulin, to fitness, you can find anything to do with diabetes on this website.

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HIV & AIDS

  1. Justin’s HIV Journal

    Justin B. Terry-Smith records a personal blog about his own experience with HIV. At age 32, he works towards gay and HIV activism, and writes thoughtful journal reflections about his own experience.

  2. HIV Blogger

    A blog dedicated living positively with a positive HIV diagnosis. This blog is the recording of one person’s experience with HIV, and it’s available for others who need a support system.

  3. My Journey With Aids

    One man’s experiences with HIV/AIDS. Through daily and weekly journaling, Ken Chaplin explains his own journey with HIV/AIDS in gripping detail. It documents a real-life person’s experience with the disease, and can provide support to those experiencing it as well.

  4. Denying AIDS and Other Oddities

    This is a blog based on a book titled “Denying AIDS.” Blog topics address and argue against those who do not believe in the science behind AIDS.

  5. The AIDS Pandemic

    Both a blog and podcast from Davidson College, posts on this site cover HIV/AIDS and its history. This blog also includes the latest scientific advanced related to the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

  6. HIV and AIDS News

    This blog covers the most up-to-date information on HIV and AIDS. It also includes a comprehensive list of government and NGO websites with information on HIV and AIDS.

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Miscellaneous

  1. Voices for a Malaria Free Future

    A blog run by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Communicaiton Programs, it contains information on all things malaria. The blog covers topics on what malaria is, why invest in malaria control, the economic impact of malaria, and more.

  2. How to Prevent Heart Disease

    The main topics of this blog address how to prevent heart disease. Due to the rising costs in health care, including health care services, medications, and lost productivity, the articles on this blog hope to prevent heart disease before it happens.

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Addiction

Even after decades of anti-smoking campaigns from the government and private organizations, cigarette addiction is a widespread problem in the U.S. The drain on health care resources caused by cancer, emphysema, and heart disease due to smoking is a huge economic issue as well. Alcohol and hard-drug addiction are also major national health issues.

  1. Addiction Journal

    The Addiction Journal is a monthly publication for the Study of Addiction to Alcohol and other Drugs. The journal is available in both hard copy and online. It features news, studies, and educational articles about addiction of all forms.

  2. Parents of an Addict

    “An Addict in Our Son’s Bedroom” is an interesting blog about parenting a drug addict. The blog is a support community and contains entries about parenting a drug addict, and both the challenges and blessings of doing so.

  3. Addiction Blogs

    Powered by Blog Nation, Addition Blogs features hundreds of blogs about drug, smoking, and alcohol addictions. It also contains information about treatment processes and support.

  4. Addiction & Recovery News

    This site is run by Dawn Farm, a program with a unique history, point of view, and voice in the addiction recovery world. Posts consist of articles and media coverage about addition in hopes to combat research bias and stigma.

  5. Addiction Blog

    A blog dedicated to inciting “intelligent communication about the trends and discoveries in the treatment of addiction.” Blog posts are about all areas of addiction, including drug, alcohol, gambling, Internet, prescription drug, and sexual addiction.

  6. Addiction Inbox

    Containing information about drug abuse, this blog provides a scientific background to addiction. Articles and health studies are featured about drugs, addiction, and alcoholism.

  7. Ready to Quit

    If you’re ready to quit smoking, Ready to Quit is a great resource to have on your side. This blog provides education information, opinions and views from those who have tried to quit smoking. You can have a real-time community interaction and support system through this blog.

  8. iQuitSmoking.com

    Looking for a realistic way to quit smoking? iQuitSmoking.com is designed for heavy and severely addicted smokers who want to finally quit the habit. It provides “realistic approaches” to quitting through stories, recommendations, and treatment plans.

  9. QuitSmoking.About.com

    “Breaking the chains of nicotine addiction involves looking at the cold, hard facts about smoking head on,” states this about.com website on quitting smoking. Gain knowledge on this site about what smoking does to your body and how to go about ending the addition.

  10. TobaccoPreventionK12

    This is a blog for the Florida Statewide Tobacco Prevention and Intervention Teacher Training Course. It’s published several times a week and has news information on tobacco, and how to keep children and teens away from the habit.

  11. Last 100 Days Alcoholic

    One man’s journey with alcoholism, how he got over it, and how his family handles it. He tells his own life story, and through blog entries he provides support for others who are attempting to overcome alcohol addiction.

  12. Life Without Beer Goggles

    One man’s journey through alcoholism and sobriety. He addresses his lowest points in life—getting laid off from his job and getting a divorce—yet provides encouragement for those who are going through the same thing.

  13. Ciggy Free

    Ciggy Free is a blog dedicated to helping you quit smoking. Blog entries address topics such as addiction, desire, prevention, and more.

  14. Stop Smoking in Public

    Smoking doesn’t just endanger your own health, but it also endangers the general public. This website addresses the aftereffects of smoking in public, and encourages quitting in order to save your family and friends from illnesses caused by secondhand smoke.

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Obesity

The following blogs confront obesity for what it is, a public health problem of pandemic proportions. The health issues caused by obesity cause major distress to individuals and are costly to the already strained health care system.

  1. Escape from Obesity

    Written from the point of view of an obsese mom, this blog addresses the struggle of getting out of obesity. Blogs cover a range of topics including eating right, mental health, parenting, and more.

  2. Dr. Sharma’s Obesity Notes

    A blog with topics about obesity, all written by Dr. Arya M. Sharma. Topics include surgeries, eating healthy, losing weight, and more.

  3. Childhood Obesity News

    A great resource for health professionals, parents, teachers, and kids. This blog addresses many topics to do with childhood obesity, and advice on how to handle the epidemic from many different angles.

  4. It Sux to be Fat

    A blog recoding one woman’s journey through weightloss. Created for inspiration and encouragement, the blog writer Jennifer tells the process of losing 100 pounds in order to start a family and live a healthier life.

  5. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans

    Focusing on different topics to do with health and fitness, this blog addresses America’s obesity epidemic. Popular subjects include childhood obesity, school lunches, and how to exercise daily.

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Mental Health

In the past half-century, mental health issues such as depression and schizophrenia have gained more recognition as real medical diseases than they’ve ever had before. Poor mental health can affect every part of an individual’s life, which in turn negatively affects their work, their family, and their community as a whole, which makes mental health just as much of a public health concern as heart disease or diabetes.

  1. BrainBlogger

    The tagline of this site is “Topics from Multidimensional Biopsychosocial Perspectives,” but it isn’t as complicated as it sounds. BrainBlogger mainly features news coverage neuroscience and neurology research, as well as discussions of widespread medical concerns like cognitive delays and mental illness.

  2. Markham’s Behavioral Health

    Multiple topics all pertaining to mental health are addressed through this blog. You can find posts on subjects such as substance abuse, health, public health, social work, education, spirituality, and more.

  3. Amanda Green

    Written by author Amanda Green, this blog addresses mental health and the stigma surrounding it. Most of the blog entries are inspirational as she herself overcame borderline personality disorder, anxiety, depression, OCD, and various other mental health issues.

  4. Blogging Behavioral

    Written by clinical psychologist Dr. Sandy Andrews, this blog focuses on clinical psychology treatment. Coming from a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and family systems background, she writes posts about perspectives gained from counseling people on the couch.

  5. Brain Blog

    Covering news about our knowledge of the brain and behavior, this blog has a wide variety of posts. Written by Anthony Risser, Ph.D., you can find topics on brain waves, mental health, mental illnesses, and more.

  6. Coping With Life

    Blog posts on this website cover life, family, and mental health issues. Most blog posts are written for the general public in an interesting way by Tom Davis, an award winning mental health journalist, or other featured bloggers in the mental health field.

  7. If You’re Going Through Hell Keep Going

    This blog is focused on the bipolar disease. Written by a man who struggles with bipolar disorder, the blog tells the trials of mood swings, death wishes, and living with friends and family while coping with being bi-polar.

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General

The blogs and websites listed below look at public health through all kinds of lenses. Written by bioethicists, epidemiologists, and other professionals in the field, as well as individuals with a story to tell or a personal experience in the public health milieu, these sites all help get the word out about the importance of paying attention to public health at the family, community, and national levels.

  1. The Bioethics Forum

    Publishing thoughtful commentary, this blog features entries from a range of perspectives on timely issues in bioethics. They also include a forum in which you can ask your own questions about bioethics.

    2. ClinicVitamins.com

  2. Global Bioethics Blog

    This blog is the English language blog of a bioethics project called “Strengthening bioethics capacity and justice in health.” It addresses issues to do with bioethics specifically in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Francophone Africa.

  3. Healthy Travel Blog

    This blog provides timely and insightful information to keep travelers safe and healthy. It’s designed for those who travel to gain information on how to remain healthy. It also provides a space for travelers to inform the public about their own insights of safety and health while on the road.

  4. Sex Health Matters

    Providing the most up-to-date sexual health information, this blog addresses issues from erectile dysfunction to low testosterone to prostate cancer. Run by the Society for the Study of Impotence, the blog features information from physicians, researchers, physician assistants and nurses.

  5. The STD Project

    A blog addressing all STD issues, including stories about STDs and reputable STD resources. The goal of this space is to promote mindfulness, education, and acceptance by sharing information about STDs.

  6. A Blog on Bioethics

    A Blog on Bioethics is run by the director of Yale’s bioethics center. Posts range from poetry on bioethics to technical terms and definitions of bioethics around the world.

  7. Hooked: Ethics, Medicine, and Pharma

    This blog provides updates and commentary that’s related to Howard Brody’s publication “Hooked: Ethics, the Medical Profession, and the Pharmaceutical Industry.” It provides a range of updated information to do with ethics within the medical field.

  8. Small Things Considered

    A blog all about microbiology and microbial activities on this planet. Microbiologists have a space to answer queries about microbiology, as well as remark on the author’s musing, write guest commentaries, and provide feedback.

  9. Statistical Epidemiology

    Sharing research outputs, data, code, and detailed model specifications, this blog addresses current use and statistics in health research. Although specifically geared towards health statistics, they use language that is accessible to a wide variety of researchers so all people can understand the fundamentals of medical research statistics.

  10. H5N1

    You can find up-to-date news and resources about influenza, infectious diseases, and the politics of public health on this blog. Additional information about many health topics, such as blog and book recommendations on influenza and diseases can be found here as well.

  11. Marler Blog

    Information about food poisoning outbreaks and litigation can be found on the pages of this blog. Started by Bill Marler, an accomplished personal injury and products liability attorney, this blog has information pertaining to litigating foodborne illness.

  12. The Spittoon

    All about DNA, this blog helps you learn about your health, ancestry, and traits through your saliva. Posts are written by top scientists, researchers, and writers in the genetics and DNA field.

  13. Health Business Blog

    This blog focuses on business issues in health care. Started by David E. Williams, co-founder of MedPharma Partners LLC, information on this blog includes topics on pharma, biotech, device, and technology enables healthcare services industries.

  14. Health News Review

    Information on Health News Review is dedicated to improving the accuracy of news stories about medical treatments, tests, products, and procedures. This blog can help you evaluate the evidence for and against new ideas in health care.

  15. Air Pollution, Aerosols and Clouds in the Climate System

    A blog all about atmospheric aerosols, clouds and climate science. It explains how atmospheric aerosols affect human health and plays an important role in weather and climate change processes.

  16. Global Health Ideas

    Global Health Ideas, known as GHI, writes about technology and research in effective health and diet support products. Focusing on safety, quality assurance, and satisfaction, the blog hosts an array of different products for weight loss and dieting.

  17. Conflict Health

    Conflict Health is a comprehensive resource on topics about the protection of health workers and the health of people from persecution, violence, and armed conflict. It includes information for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners on questions relating to armed conflict, public health, health security, and health diplomacy.

  18. Society for Public Health Education

    A blog created by SOPHE (Society for Public Health Education), it covers topics on healthy behaviors, healthy community, and healthy environments. The blog is designed for those who work in elementary/secondary schools, universities, voluntary organizations, health care settings, worksites, and local/state/federal government agencies.

  19. PHF Pulse

    Public Health Foundation’s blog covers topics on achieving healthy communities. Their blog entries contain research, training, and technical assistance for health communities.

  20. The Health Care Blog

    Anything and everything to do with health care is covered on this blog. They have topics on the business of health care, important research and development for professionals within the health care field, as well as political health care content.

  21. What Is Public Health?

    This website was created as a place to provide understanding of the various roles public health officials play every day to ensure the health of the American public. The blog attempts to answer three questions: What does public health encompass? What impact does public health have on our lives? And what types of careers are available in the field of public health?

  22. The Naked Truth

    A blog all about sexual health and well-being. They offer expert information and basic healthcare services such as HIV and STD testing.

  23. The Sexual Health Centre Blog

    A blog dedicated to the promotion of sexual health. Peer education, health expert advice, pregnancy information, and HIV/STD testing are a few of the services offered through this blog.

  24. Kinsey Confidential

    With an array of different bloggers, this site provides accessible and topical information based on current scientific knowledge. They share news articles and trends related to sex, gender and sexual health.

  25. Virology Blog

    A professor of microbiology writes all about virology in order to teach you about viruses and viral disease. It’s written in a way that the average person can understand, so the general public can be educated about viruses.

  26. Aetiology

    As the tagline suggests, this blog discusses the causes, origins, evolution, and implications of disease and other phenomena. Posts cover a variety of topics relating to disease and where it comes from.

  27. Public Health Garden

    Started at the University of Maryland, the Public Health Garden is a student teaching and community garden that was created to demonstrate sustainable agriculture and the best environmental practices. Their blog records the work they do in public environmental and community health areas.

  28. Shawn and Gwenn

    As a two person team, Shawn and Gwenn teach about sexual health. They share their personal story and also empower others to be safe. Their blog entries are typically humorous and contain information they typically use in speaking engagements.

  29. Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease

    The PFCD is a coalition of patients, providers, communities, businesses, and labor groups. They have blog entries written by policy experts and other professionals within the medical field. Topics such as death, disability, and rising health care costs are addressed to raise awareness about chronic disease.

  30. Pop Bioethics

    Kyle Munkittrick runs this blog dedicated to the study of the ethics of the continuing evolution of the human species. He writes entertaining blog entries about evolution using pop culture references.

  31. Global Health Bioethics

    This blog contains resources that are helpful to those conducting global health bioethics research. It focuses on both developing and developed countries, and encourages communication in global health research ethics.

  32. Public Health Matters

    A blog from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, posts contain stories on preparing for and responding to public health events. Topics include anthrax, disease investigation, foodborne illnesses, natural disasters, zombies, and more.

  33. Disease Management Care Blog

    A blog containing information on disease management, medical home, chronic care model, accountable car organizations, patient centered medical home, informatics and more. Blogs are both peer-review linked as well as general musings and opinions on all topics centered around public health.

  34. Malawi Clinics

    Started by the Scottish and Malawian Clinics Project, this blog was set up to “help narrow the gap in access to resources between healthcare professionals in the developing and the developed world.” Through this online community you can find topics on international healthcare and how to “think global and act local” in realistic and measurable ways.

  35. Environmental Health News

    Published by Environmental Health Sciences, this is a journal that is published daily. Topics cover many subjects to do with environmental health issues and are published with the purpose to advance the public’s understanding of worldwide news.

  36. Epi Wonk

    This an epidemiology blog written for the general public. It also includes recent updates about health and medicine news.

  37. Infection Landscapes

    This is a detailed blog about epidemiology and infectious diseases. It was created with the purpose to increase discussion and conversation about infectious diseases in relation to epidemiology.

  38. Mr. Epidemiology

    This is a blog written by an epidemiology graduate student. He focuses on methods and techniques that are used to address issues and diseases that affect populations. Most of the topics are good for professionals or aspiring professionals in the epidemiology field.

  39. Not In My Food

    A blog from a Consumers Union team that is focused on advocating for food safety. They work towards assuring that all consumer food is safe, affordable, healthy, and processed in a sustainable manner. Most of their posts are news items and way to get involved in advocating for a healthier food system.

  40. Barf Blog

    A blog focused on how to get safe food all the way “from the farm to the fork.” Blog topics include food safety, food policy, and more.

  41. The Piper Report

    A blog focuses on all issues to do with U.S. health care. Some common topics include medicare, Medicaid, pharma and biotech, and more.

  42. Karen Grepin’s Global Health Blog

    Global health policy issues are covered in the blog posts on this website. Written by Karen Grepin, research focuses on the economics and politics of health service delivery in developing countries.

  43. The Germ Guy Blog

    This blog’s tagline sums it up: “A unique look at germs, hygiene and staying healthy.” The writer has been in the scientific community for 25 years and provides educational information on diagnostic technologies. Blog entries are based on food, water, air, and bloodborne fields.

  44. Gooz News

    This is a news business blog written by Merrill Goozner. The blog provides expert news information on economics, business, and investigative journalism.

  45. Center for Global Development

    This is a website belonging to The Center for Global Development. Their articles are written in line with their mission to “reduce global poverty and inequality through rigorous research and active engagement with the policy community.”

  46. Get Ready Blog

    A blog sponsored by the American Public Health Association, it focuses on how to deal with the flu. Blog topics cover how to prepare families and communities for flu and hazards such as infectious diseases.

  47. The Pollution Blog

    This blog focuses on how to clean-up the world’s worst polluted places. Articles track worldwide efforts to bring an end to life-threatening pollution.

  48. The Pump Handle

    Focusing on public health and the environment, this website provides information for the general population. It’s goal is to discuss public health issues that do not get covered in mainstream media.

  49. Health Beat by Maggie Mahar

    Created by Maggie Mahar, this blog focuses on healthcare, public health, the economy, and politics. It Includes weekly posts, in addition to a blogroll and resources on public health issues.

  50. New American Foundation

    This website belongs to The New American Foundation. Articles emphasize work that is responding to the changing conditions and problems of the 21st century. Many topics pertain to the American education and health care systems, and how they’re struggling with quality, cost, and access.

  51. Reporting on Health

    An online community for people interested in health and medical coverage of communities, this website has many articles about community health issues. The website’s aim is to provoke conversations about health journalism, blogging, and storytelling.

  52. Women and Our Health

    Produced by Tiffany L. Rider, this women’s health blog focuses on nutrition, sex and relationships, advocacy, and fitness. Articles feature interviews with women health professionals, and include up-to-date news on women’s health issues.

  53. Women’s Community Clinic

    Based in the California Bay Area, Women’s Community Clinic is a clinic and website dedicated to women, their health, and their livelihood. The website focuses on community and how to best provide healthcare for women within communities.

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