<home> -- <press releases> -- <May 16, 2003>

ONLINE HEALTH INFORMATION ADDRESSES

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – May 16, 2003 – Washington, D.C. – The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy Thompson announced the launch of two web sites providing health information for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The new sites expand on the department’s Steps to a Healthier US initiative (http://www.healthierus.gov/) which seeks to provide credible, accurate information to help live a healthy life.

"Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islander communities are affected disproportionately by cardiovascular disease, cancer, hepatitis B, tuberculosis and other diseases.” Secretary Thompson said, “At HHS, we're increasing our online presence to bring culturally relevant and appropriate health information and services to their fingertips."

Healthfinder® was developed by HHS and other federal agencies to be a key resource for government and nonprofit health and human services information on the internet. The healthfinder® website includes a section devoted to health issues of concern to Asians and Pacific Islanders. The just for you (www.healthfinder.gov/justforyou) section provides selected information based on race and ethnicity. Some information is available in different languages including Tagalog, Chinese and Korean.

The “Asian American Health” (http://asianamericanhealth.nlm.nih.gov) is another online resource that features census data, health information including alternative medicine, and links to online medical databases, publications and organizations for Asian Americans.

“This is a wonderful resource for our people. I thank Secretary Thompson and HHS for recognizing and responding to the unique needs of our community.” remarked Congresswoman Bordallo. “I encourage everyone to utilize these tools to stay informed and lead healthier lives.”

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Contact: Neil Weare in Washington, D.C., at (202) 225-1188 or Joaquin Perez in Guam at (671) 477-4272.