Top Free Health Information Resources for Military Families

Team Sandboxx wanted to compile a list of the best free health information resources for military families, Active Duty service members and Veterans. There was so many sites and information available though that we didn’t know where to start. We asked Karen Estrada, the Founder of Military Health Matters LLC. for her list of top free resources. (You can learn more about Karen below)

Frequently I am asked for trustworthy and reliable sources of military and veterans health information resources. You may wonder why this question is asked so frequently considering the hundreds of websites that offer a good number of excellent resources. That in and of itself is the problem, albeit a good one.

Land of Overwhelm

Because there are so many websites and resources on those websites – even the most seasoned information professional or health literacy educator can often feel overwhelmed!

My “Go to” Resources List

For the purpose of this post, this is my short list – there are many others that are very good as well. I wanted to include ones that perhaps people are not as familiar with.

1. RealWarriors.net

The Real Warriors Campaign is a multimedia public awareness campaign designed to encourage help-seeking behavior among service members, veterans and military families coping with invisible wounds. (Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE)

** Since it’s launch in 2009, RealWarriors has consistently been an excellent source of trustworthy and current information.

2. Veterans Health Library – VHL (English/Spanish)

More Information here & here.

The VHL offers Veterans, family members, and caregivers 24/7 access to comprehensive, consistent, Veteran-focused health information. (Developed under the guidance of National Center of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention’s Veterans Health Education and Information Program.)

3. PubMed Health (National Library of Medicine)

More information on Health Topics & Drugs A-Z.

PubMed Health provides information for consumers and clinicians on prevention and treatment of diseases and conditions. (National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM).

4. Society for Neuroscience (SFN) / Brainfacts.org

For clinicians, the Society for Neuroscience is the world’s largest organization of scientists and physicians devoted to understanding the brain and nervous system.

For consumers/patients, BrainFacts.org is an authoritative source of information about the brain and nervous system for the public.

** Offers information for individuals of all ages. It is important that younger children in families with a parent who has TBI learn about the brain and brain injury on their level of understanding. There are also lesson plans available for educators. The site is a bit more challenging to get around but is worth the amount of good information to be found.

5. PTSD: National Center for PTSD

The National Center for PTSD is dedicated to research and education on trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

**Very well organized website with useful information for both clinicians and patients/consumers.

There is also an access point on this page (right side-bar) to the Published International Literature on Traumatic Stress (PILOTS) Database. PILOTS is an electronic index to the worldwide literature on PTSD and other mental health consequences of exposure to traumatic events.

About the Author

Karen Estrada, M.S. (Military Health Matters, LLC.) has been a Health Information Writer, Educator, Advocate, and Medical Information Professional for over 23 years – specializing in military & veteran’s health issues as well as military family life challenges. Best known online as Milhealth (@milhealth).

In 2008, Karen launched Military Health Matters a free website/resource in order to provide a single platform of information resources which would provide answers (resources) to the most commonly asked questions received almost daily from military families and service personnel. The site does not provide medical advice nor opinion.

Karen is a proud military Mom, her eldest son enlisted in the Army in July 2001 and is a Sergeant First Class (SFC), Airborne. He has deployed to both Afghanistan and Iraq with the 82nd Airborne and 10th Mountain Divisions. Her younger son enlisted in the Army in early 2008 (Specialist, SPC) but later sustained injuries during paratrooper training exercises (now a veteran). Her father served in the Navy (Seabees) during WWII and her son’s father served in the Air Force (Okinawa) during the latter years of the Vietnam War. E-mail: help@militaryhealthmatters.org / http://militaryhealthmatters.com/contact-request