Website reviews editors Thomas Tang / Etienne Ciantar / Ephia Yasmin. Thomas Tang MD ... recognised. The website is dedicated to the National Chlamydia.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-4667.2011.00085.x
2012;14:68–69
Website reviews
The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist http://onlinetog.org
Website reviews @ TOG Website reviews editors Thomas Tang / Etienne Ciantar / Ephia Yasmin Thomas Tang MD MRCOG (Website Reviews Editor) Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Bradford, UK Etienne Ciantar MRCOG Academic Specialist Registrar in Obstetrics and Gynaecology Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds, UK Ephia Yasmin MD MRCOG Subspecialty Trainee in Reproductive Medicine and Surgery University College London Hospital, London, UK
www.chlamydiascreening.nhs.uk
The Health Protection Agency has highlighted the rising incidence of chlamydia in the under-25 age group. The longterm consequences of pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy and tubal infertility in the female and possible male infertility due to inflammation of the genital tract are well recognised. The website is dedicated to the National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP), as its name suggests. The website is aimed at medical professionals. Due to the simplicity of the language, however, most of the topics are accessible to the general public, although the website does not carry a separate patient information section. The website is well laid out and easy to navigate. The homepage carries the headings of all the topics covered, with drop-down lists appearing under each section. An introduction to Chlamydia trachomatis, current evidence on investigation and treatment, laboratory methods and implementing the NCSP are some of the topics that are covered well. The evidence is up to date and there is a section on ongoing research and a facility to register research with the NCSP. The information on methods of laboratory testing is detailed. The section on developing guidance was under
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construction at the time of review. A special and valuable feature of this website is the patient information that has been translated into languages which include Urdu, Arabic and Polish. The website is useful for general practitioners, nurses, sexual and reproductive health physicians, gynaecologists and trainees.
www.ukia.co.uk
The UK Intersex Association website is a source of support to people with disorders of sexual development. The Association was founded in May 2000 by a group of individuals who shared common experiences of what it means to be born intersexed. The Association works to establish close working relationships with medical professionals and allied specialties. Obstetricians and gynaecologists do not encounter many people with disorders of sexual development as they tend to be seen by paediatric and adolescent gynaecologists. This website contains personal experiences of people who are living with these difficult conditions. The website contains information on where parents or patients themselves can receive medical advice and about
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Website reviews
the support services available in the UK. It also offers recommendations on managing intersexed people. As the management guidelines developed from the needs of people with the conditions, medical professionals will find these recommendations useful during consultation; for example, regarding the appropriate terminology to use to make the consultation process more sensitive to the needs of patients. The website is soon to be upgraded and it is planned to include a section for young people and a feature on the Association’s international Associates. It is still worth a read for an insight into these difficult conditions, which are also medically tricky, as disorders of sexual development encompass different diagnoses.
makes it very easy to access all the latest information on a wide range of infections, including those that can be encountered in general obstetric care, such as HIV, hepatitis and syphilis. This website is an excellent adjunct to our armamentarium of online resources and looking at information through a public health lens makes it very useful and enjoyable to navigate through.
www.e-lfh.org.uk
www.hpa.org.uk
The Health Protection Agency website may not be the first port of call for most obstetricians and gynaecologists seeking information online. It can, however, be a very useful tool with which to access a wide range of public health and scientific information, some of which is particularly relevant to obstetrics and gynaecology. The website’s design is very clear and user-friendly. The search engine makes it very easy to look up specific specialtyrelated topics that may be difficult to access from other sources. These include, among others, information on the National Teratology Information Service, vaccination in pregnancy (including the safety of the human papillomavirus vaccine in pregnancy) and management of rashes in pregnant women. There is also very topical information on the management and prevention of group A streptococcus infection. The website is also rich in public health topics, which are still very pertinent to our specialty. These range from MRSA, antimicrobial resistance and epidemiological reports on the H1N1 pandemic to migrant health and foreign travel-associated illness. In addition, the website contains clinical information on most infectious diseases, including epidemiological data and guidelines where applicable. This
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E-Learning for Healthcare started off as a radiology project in 2003 to ensure that consistent training was delivered in a flexible way, without relying exclusively on traditional teaching methods. It has now expanded into a well defined and popular way of learning within the National Health Service. This website is a result of this learning revolution. The site provides a wide selection of e-learning projects, on topics ranging from venous thromboembolism, research and audit and the 18-week patient pathway, to sexual health and HIV, sexual and reproductive healthcare (winner of the 2010 e-Government Nation Awards) and electronic fetal monitoring. The latter is a very comprehensive web-based resource for obstetricians, midwives and keen medical students and was developed by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of Midwives. It consists of an interesting and interactive introductory session covering the history and rationale of electronic fetal monitoring, including detailed sections on physiological factors affecting the fetal heart and the risks of intrapartum fetal hypoxia. The project also has a sample case study aimed at identifying normal and abnormal fetal recordings and advising on the appropriate management options, mirroring real-life situations. These sections do not require user registration. The full project contains five courses followed by assessments and case studies. The website is very easy to navigate through and allows the user to learn at their own pace using nationally quality-assured materials. Access to the projects requires registration, which is straightforward.
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