Development of Online Suites of Social Science–Based Resources for Health Researchers and Practitioners

Abstract

The burgeoning of the Internet has enormous potential for bringing scientific research into the hands of both health practitioners and health researchers to enhance their job performance. In this article, the authors give two examples of how carefully developed and organized online resources can leverage the engaging multimedia formats, ubiquitous access, and low cost of the Internet to address this goal. The article describes two newonline suites of social and behavioral science-based resources designed for those in the HIV/AIDS and teen pregnancy prevention fields: HIV Research and Practice Resources and Teen Pregnancy Research and Practice Resources. Each online suite includes research data, survey instruments, prevention resources, and evaluation-related publications and tools that can enhance prevention research and practice. The article ends by peering into the future at how the field of health-related prevention and research might be further advanced using the Internet.