About.Com AIDS
Directory:About.Com, bills itself as "the human Internet". Each site in About.com's network is run by a professional Guide who is screened and trained by About. The About.com HIV/AIDS section's guide is Mark Cichocki, RN. Mark Cichocki RN is an HIV/AIDS nurse specialist at the University of Michigan Health System. His comprehensive guide includes numerous articles and featured topics including a comprehensive subject library (which, in turn, includes links to selected and reviewed external sites in each relevant subject area. (About.com is a commercial network, but clearly lists which links are sponsored (paid) and which are ones which the guide selected.
Access Project,
The:The AIDS Clinical Trials Information Service is the central resource for current information on federally and privately funded clinical trials for AIDS patients and others infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). AIDS clinical trials evaluate experimental drugs and other therapies for adults and children at all stages of HIV infection -- from patients who are HIV positive with no symptoms to those with various symptoms of AIDS.
The Access Project is an information clearinghouse. It collects and distributes information about medications available for HIV and AIDS through Medicaid, AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs), and pharmaceutical industry sponsored patient assistance and expanded access programs.
AEGIS:AEGiS is the largest and most comprehensive HIV+ / AIDS resource on the Internet. As a not-for-profit organization, AEGiS' professional staff reviews numerous resources (online and offline), provides literally hundreds (if not thousands) of reviewed links to online sites, contact information for resources in communities all over the world, up-to-the-minute HIV+ and AIDS related news and medical information from hundreds of reliable sources, medical updates and resource information. Resources for everyone from newly diagnosed to medical professionals and AIDS prevention workers.
AIDSinfo:AIDSinfo, a Web site offering comprehensive information on HIV/AIDS treatments and clinical trials went live
on World AIDS Day (Dec. 2, 2002).The site merges two popular information services, the HIV/AIDS Treatment Information Service (ATIS) and the AIDS Clinical Trials Information Service (ACTIS). Catering to the needs of health care providers, researchers, people living with HIV/AIDS and the general public, the combined site provides a single, searchable resource of HIV/AIDS treatment guidelines and information about all federally funded and privately sponsored HIV/AIDS clinical trials.
AIDSinfo retains and improves upon the earlier phone- and Web-based services. By continuing to provide trained specialists who speak English and Spanish, the new service ensures that individuals with or without Web access have an opportunity to receive information on clinical trials and treatment guidelines. The site's developers studied how people search for information on the Web, allowing them to create a site that is more than a simple database. Each page of AIDSinfo gives users opportunities to go beyond their specific queries and discover related material.
The streamlined site is divided into four main areas: guidelines, drugs, clinical trials and vaccines. Current guidelines on such topics as preventing and treating HIV in adults and children; treating and preventing opportunistic infections and other co-infections; and preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV can all be viewed, printed and downloaded into a computer or personal digital assistant, if desired.
In the clinical trials section, users can customize their searches to match their needs. For example, the database may be searched for trials open to different categories of volunteers, such as those newly infected or those in whom previous therapy has failed. The database also can be searched by location of the trial and by the specific products being tested. AIDSinfo offers extensive information on FDA-approved therapies for HIV/AIDS and opportunistic infections along with an HIV glossary, news releases about HIV/AIDS research efforts and links to further information.
In 1989, ACTIS began providing up-to-date information on HIV/AIDS clinical trials through a toll-free number. Staffed with trained information specialists, the telephone information and referral service provided callers with information about HIV treatment and prevention clinical trials in English or Spanish. The Web site, established later, offered direct access to clinical trials databases and various educational resources. A similar telephone resource for HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention guidelines was established soon after. From 1990 until 1995, the clinical trials service alone assisted between 25,000 and 32,000 callers each year. With the advent of the World Wide Web, phone inquiries dropped while the number of requests to the service's Web site soared. In 1999, almost 285,000 Web site hits were recorded.
AIDSinfo is jointly sponsored by several agencies within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including three components of the National Institutes of Health -- the Office of AIDS Research, the National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Other contributing agencies included the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services; the Health Resources and Services Administration; and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
NIAID is a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. NIAID supports basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose, and treat infectious and immune-mediated illnesses, including HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, illness from potential agents of bioterrorism, tuberculosis, malaria, autoimmune disorders, asthma and allergies.
Aidsmap.Com:Aidsmap.com, a British not-for-profit website, features comprehensive news items and resources. Many of the resources on this site are deal with medical and resource developments in the treatment of HIV and AIDS. Site also includes detailed, current information on other STDs and diseases which affect people with HIV+ and AIDS. Information is written for everyone from lay persons to medical professionals. The Aidsmap.com site is produced by NAM in collaboration with the British HIV Association and the International HIV/AIDS Alliance.
Body, The:Another extremely comprehensive HIV+ / AIDS site which draws
from many content
providers. The site, which has won numerous awards, bills
itself as the "most comprehensive HIV+ / AIDS resource on
the Internet", and it clearly is one of the most
comprehensive. Regarding content, The Body, says (in
part):
"Each organization and each expert edits and publishes their own
information, and each organization and each expert is solely
responsible for the accuracy of the information published, the
intellectual property rights of the materials put up and the
opinions expressed in its area. In addition, each organization
and each expert is responsible for maintaining any obligations of
confidentiality incumbent upon publishers of health-related
information. ... Materials will be updated at the discretion of
each organization and expert, and each organization and expert is
responsible for informing users as to the accuracy of the
information it provides."
HealingWell.Com:This commercial site features several resources on HIV/AIDS and on other chronic diseases and conditions. The HIV/AIDS links are sparse compared to other sites we've chosen to include. Most HIV+/AIDS articles in the library either come from previously published material from respected sources, although some of the material appears dated. The library also includes articles especially written for HealingWell.com and both the previously published material and original articles include biographical information and links. Information on this site is designed for the everyday person, rather than the clinician.
HIV/AIDS Search Engine This search engine
is the personal project of a PWA (Person with AIDS) in Canada who is on disability. All sites are individually reviewed by "Davey Boy", the site owner, and added manually.
The site is comprehensive and AidsJourneys.Org is listed in several places on the site. Our review team found the site to be a "mixed bag".
Some sites listed are well respected "mainstream" sites while others are more controversial.
Although The HIV/AIDS Search Engine is comprehensive, listings are not alphabetical and the graphic interface on some pages is difficult to navigate. These
reviewers noted that when a person clicks on a link in the search engine, the resulting page is displayed inside a HIV/AIDS Search Engine frame and there is no option to close the frame to view the resulting page directly.
People with visual difficulties, using automatic readers, find this site nearly impossible to navigate.
Other reviewers were impressed with the features offered on the site, including IRC-based chatrooms, free personal sections for both gay and straight PWH/PWAs, and a free link exchange.
The site also accepts paid advertising on its banner network, which helps offset the operational expenses of the site, according to "Davey Boy". All reviewers
are impressed by the work that "Davey Boy" has put in to the site. This site is unique because it is apparently the only HIV/AIDS related specialty search engine on the Internet.
A comprehensive information source on HIV/AIDS in Nigeria and the West African sub-region. Nigeria-AIDS is the website of Journalists Against AIDS (JAAIDS) Nigeria, the award-winning media-based non-governmental HIV/AIDS advocacy organization. Site features extensive resources including studies and reports, a public forum email list, extensive links and more.
Pharmaceutical Company Web pagesThis list (here on Aidsjourneys.Org) provides the web site addresses for most of the major pharmaceutical companies currently manufacturing drugs to combat HIV disease and various opportunistic infections. Most of these companies have special programs to assist people who cannot afford medications to get them. The conditions to qualify for these special programs vary. Information is usually on their web site or you can find it by calling them. Whenever possible, we've listed the HIV treatment medication or medication for HIV related Opportunistic Infection which each company makes.
Project Inform:This incredible site, which accompanies a comprehensive publishing and resource center, provides extremely detailed information about treatments, drug interactions, medical and scientific updates, legal rights, advocacy and much more. The web site is just one of many services offered by the full service education, support and advocacy agency. Project Inform's toll-free National HIV/AIDS Treatment Hotline is provides HIV/AIDS treatment information —free of charge— to anyone who needs it. Staffed by highly trained volunteers, the Hotline receives 20,000 calls per year (according to Project Inform), and serves as a gateway to other Project Inform services and publications. The toll-free number is 1-800-822-7422. The Hotline staff works with Project Inform's Publications, Advocacy Treatment Education and Public Policy Departments to develop material based on the latest available information and the individual caller's information needs. Most often Project Inform's information comes from direct interaction with researchers, scientists, government officials and agencies and activists from other AIDS policy organizations. Project Inform will also provide exceedingly detailed and up-to-date information about treatments, risks, etc. in writing to any caller who requests such information free of charge.