Health Notes Health Notes (May 14, 2003)

TOOLS FOR PARENTS . . . The final talk in the Tools for Parents series, sponsored by Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and Bay Area Parent magazine, will be held Tuesday, May 27 from 7-9 p.m. at Fairchild Auditorium on the Stanford campus. The speaker will be Jane Nelsen, co-author of 13 books in the "Positive Discipline" series. Her topic: raising self-reliant children. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. Call (800) 647-0288 or visit www.toolsforparents.com.

STANFORD CEO TAPPED . . . Martha M. Marsh, CEO of Stanford Hospital and Clinics, has been appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on the National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC). Marsh joins 23 other national leaders, industry chief executive officers, academicians and state and local government representatives with responsibilities for the security of critical information infrastructures. Marsh is the only health care representative on the Council, which provides guidance to the country's homeland security.

INFO ON THE NET . . . When it comes to finding health information, not as many Americans are turning to the Internet as previously thought. Stanford researchers have found that 40 percent of American adults with Internet access -- about 20 percent of the general adult population -- look for advice on health or health care in cyberspace. Previous studies put that figure at between 35 to 80 percent of online adults.

Although the number is lower than other reports, Laurence Baker, lead author of the study and associate professor of health research and policy at Stanford, said that 40 percent is still a significant number of people and that, "the Internet is clearly an important tool for disseminating information."
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