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© 1997-2009 FNX Corporation
and Trustees of Dartmouth College.
All Rights Reserved.

About HowsYourHealth

HowsYourHealth has two parts:

  1. the questions you are asked
  2. the information you receive after you answer the questions.

We use four methods to make sure that both of these parts are accurate:

  1. research
  2. word review
  3. information review
  4. update of information

Research

We use Research to make sure the questions and information really helps you take better care of yourself and helps you get better health care. For more than twenty years, a cooperative network of physicians, nurses, and researchers affiliated with Dartmouth Medical School has developed approaches to make care truly responsive to the needs of the population. HowsYourHealth.org is derived from this experience and has been shown to be effective and useful in several published research studies.* Generous support for this work has been provided by The John A. Hartford Foundation, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Henry J. Kaiser Foundation, The W.T. Grant Foundation, The Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, and the Commonwealth Fund.

In 1992, the underlying approach for HowsYourHealth.org was officially adopted for international use in more than 20 languages by the World Organization of Primary Care.

Word Review

We have the Words Reviewed by non-medical persons. Teenagers and adults reviewed the words during the research and suggested changes to make the words easier to understand. Language translations are checked by at least two persons to make sure they are correct.However, despite our best efforts, some persons will need help answering the questions or reading the information. After extensive testing, HowsYourHealth.org was designed to be easy on eyes, easy to navigate, and easy for even the slowest computer to read.

Information Review

The information has been designed and tested to help you take better care of yourself and help you get better health care. The research shows that the information must be set up in certain ways to best help you and a doctor or nurse communicate well or "get on the same page". The information is much less medically detailed than that provided by MedlinePlus (or other web sites) that are designed to give you the latest and best medical information for a specific disease or problem.

We have tried to make HowsYourHealth error free. However, those involved in its preparation can not warrant that all of the information is accurate and complete. When you use HowsYourHealth as a guide for your health and medical care, be sure to discuss any questions about it with your doctor, nurse or other health care worker.

The information provided on HowsYourHealth is designed to support, not replace the relationship that exists between a patient/site-visitor and his/her physician.

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The Trustees of Dartmouth College licensed FNX Corporation to make this approach available to health professionals and others concerned about the health of the population.

For additional information about customized use, call 1 603 727 4001.

Updates

Except for the correction of errors that is done immediately, updates of the questions and information are performed annually. John Wasson MD, Professor of Community and Family Medicine, and Medicine at Dartmouth Medical School oversees all updates. The latest update was in January, 2009. For persons aged 13 or older, the sources for updates are:

  • The Journal of the American Medical Association
  • The New England Journal of Medicine
  • The British Medical Journal
  • The ACP Journal Club (This provides reviews of current publications).
  • The Journal of the American Geriatric Society
  • Clinical Evidence from the British Medical Journal (This provides comprehensive reviews for common conditions and preventive recommendations).


Advertising and Sponsorship

HowsYourHealth accepts no advertising of any type. We do offer the book "How's Your Health" in order to minimize costs for those who might wish to purchase it. HowsYourHealth is supported by fees from sponsoring doctor's offices, health systems, and businesses.

Published References

Clinical Development and Testing:
[A] Nelson EC, Landgraf JM, Hays RD, Wasson JH, Kirk JW. The functional status of patients: How can it be measured in physicians' offices? Med Care 1990;28(12):1111-1126.
[B] Nelson EC, Wasson JH, Johnson DJ, Hays RD. Dartmouth COOP Functional Health Assessment Charts: Brief Measures for Clinical Practice. In: Spilker B, ed. Quality of Life and Pharmacoeconomics in Clinical Trials. Philadelphia: Lippincott-Raven. 1996:161-168.
[C} Wasson JH, Jette AM, Johnson DJ, Mohr JJ, Nelson EC. A Replicable and Customizable Approach To Improve Ambulatory Care and Research. J Ambulatory Medicine 1997;20(1); 17-27.
[D] Wasson JH, Stukel TA, Weiss JE, et. al. A Randomized Trial of Using Patient Self-Assessment Data to Improve Community Practices. Effective Clinical Practice 1999; 2:1-10.
[E] Bronfort G, and Bouter LM. Responsiveness of general health status in chronic low back pain: a comparison of the COOP Charts and the SF-36. 1999 Pain 83; 201-209
[F] Wasson JH, Jette AM, Anderson J, et.al. Routine, Single-Item Screening to Identify Abusive Relationships in Women. J. Fam. Pract. 2000;49:1017-1022.
[G] Ahles TA, Seville J, Wasson JH, et.al. Panel-Based Pain Management in Primary Care: The Journal of Pain And Symptom Management 2001: 22, 584-590.
[H] Moore LG, Wasson JH. An Introduction to Technology for Patient-centered, Collaborative Care. J Ambulatory Care Manage. 2006; 29(3): 195-198.
[I] Wasson JH, Johnson DJ, Benjamin R, Phillips J, et al. Patients Report Positive Impacts of Collaborative Care. J Ambulatory Care Manage. 2006; 29(3): 199-206.
[J] Wasson JH, Ahles T, Johnson D, Kabcenell A, etal. Resource Planning for Patient-centered Collaborative Care. J Ambulatory Care Manage. 2006; 29(3): 207-214.
[K] Moore LG, Wasson JH, Johnson DJ, Zettek J. The Emergence of Ideal Micro Practices for Patient-centered, Collaborative Care. J Ambulatory Care Manage. 2006; 29(3): 215-221.
[L] Wasson J, Benjamin R. Postscript. Health Disparity and Collaborative Care. J Ambulatory Care Manage. 2006; 29(3): 233-234.
[M] Wasson J. Technical Notes. When All Things Are Not Equal. J Ambulatory Care Manage. 2006; 29(3): 235-237.
[N] Ahles TA, Wasson JW, Seville JL, Johnson DJ, etal. A Controlled Trial of Methods for Managing Pain in Primary Care Patients With or Without Co-Occurring Psychosocial Problems. Ann. of Family Med 2006; 4(3): 341-350
[O] Moore LG and Wasson JH. Ideal Medical Practice: Improving Efficiency, Quality, and the Doctor- Patient Relationship. Family Practice Management. 2007; September: 21-24.
[P] Wasson JH, Mackenzie TA, Hall M. Patients Use an Internet Technology to Report When Things Go Wrong. 2007 Quality and Safety in Health Care; 2007:16:213-217.
[Q] Wasson JH, Johnson DJ, and Macknezie T. The Impact of Primary Care Patients' Pain and Emotional Problems on their Confidence with Self-Management. Jamb CareMngmnt. 2008;31: 120-127.
[R] Wasson JH. Who is in charge? Even affluent patients suffer consequences of fragmented care. JAmb CareMngmnt. 2008;31: 35-36.
[S] Guinn N and Moore LG. Practice Measurement: A new approach for demonstrating the worth of your work. Family Practice Management 2008: Feb. 19-22

Community/School Development and Testing:
[A] Wasson JH, Kairys SW, Nelson EC, Kalishman N, Baribeau P. A short survey for assessing health and social problems of adolescents. J Fam Prac 1994; 38(5):489-494.
[B] Bracken AC, Hersh AL, Johnson DJ. A Computerized School-Based Health Assessment with Rapid Feedback to Improve Adolescent Health. Clin. Pediatrics 1998;677-683.
[C] Wasson JH, James C. Implementation of a Web-based Interaction Technology to Improve the Quality of a City's Health Care. J. Amb. Care Managem. 2001;24: 1-12
[D] Luce P, Phillips J, Benjamin R, Wasson JH. Technology to Support CommunityHealth Alliances. J. Amb. Care Managem. 2004;27: 399-407

Examples of a few key references can be downloaded and read in PDF format.
View references in support of HowsYourHealth use in practice
Problem Solving effectiveness and its fit into
Patient-Centered Collaborative Care.

COOP Logo © 1997-2009 FNX Corp. and Trustees of Dartmouth College.
All Rights Reserved.