Audio Help
Finding information
The simplest way to find information is by "browsing" the site, that is clicking the blue, hypertext links in the bulleted list on the Home page or selecting a topic from the "Choose a section..." drop down list in the green banner on all other pages.
Searching tips star rating icons
However, the most effective way of finding information is to search the site because you will then be presented with a results list of all relevant information, eg information leaflets on the condition, patient support groups, medical reference articles, other health sites, books etc.
What's more searching is simple. No matter where you are in the site simply type a search word or phrase in the box alongside "Search our site" in the green banner and click the Go button.
Search tips
If you haven't been presented with a list of anything you consider useful then consider the following:
- It may seem basic but check your spelling is correct.
- Patient search does not recognise wildcard characters (e.g. +, $, *). Using these may be detrimental to your search results.
Understanding the search results
Nearest match
On Patient UK we give search strings a nearest match rating with 6 stars being the closest match to the search word or phrase and 1 being the lowest. If you look at the search results for hypertension you will see that top of the list, with 6 stars, is a PatientPlus record entitled Hypertension. The titles immediately below only have 5 stars because although they are about hypertension, none of them are an exact title match to the search word. For example the Information Leaflet is entitled High Blood Pressure (Hypertension).
As well as giving hits a star rating we also group them within each star rating into types of records. As Patient UK is aimed primarily as members of the public we list our information leaflet titles first (including any patient experience), followed by patient support groups, then patientplus records (including any patient experience), then directory pages and finally suggested books.
Document icons
Throughout Patient UK we use the following icons to identify types of records:
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Information leaflet - easy-to-understand leaflets on health and diseases aimed at members of the public |
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Patient support - documents with brief details of UK patient support organisations, self help groups, etc, generally including their own website address |
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PatientPlus - medical reference articles aimed at health professionals |
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Patient experience - other peoples' experience of a particular condition or treatment |
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Medicines - easy-to-understand documents on prescription and over-the-counter drugs aimed at members of the public |
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Directory - an extensive directory of UK websites on health, disease, and related topics |
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Books - recommended books on health and disease |
Audio Help downloading podcasting
How do I listen to an audio file?
If a topic has an associated audio file, there will be a large audio icon at the top of the document page (
) and a smaller audio icon next to each section within the page (
). You can see the full list of leaflets in audio format by going to Audio Recordings.
To listen to the complete recording, left-click the large audio icon at the top of the page. To listen to individual sections, left-click the small audio icon alongside the section heading of your choice.
If you have problems listening to the recordings on our website, you probably need to install an mp3 plugin for your browser, or a free music player.
Note - if you're using Mozilla Firefox on either Windows, Linux or MacOSX you may need to check the Firefox plugins site and download/install the necessary mp3 plugin. The Firefox plugin site is: https://pfs.mozilla.org/plugins/
Downloading the audio file to your local computer
The audio files on Patient UK are all in mp3 format and you may prefer to download them and save to your computer so that you can listen to them later.
To download an audio file:
- Right-click on the audio icon to start the download.
- You should get a list of options such as 'Save Link As' or 'Save Target As' and doing one of these will enable you to save the file to the folder of your choice.
Do I need to have an mp3 player or iPod to listen to downloads?
No - all you need is a media player and speakers (or headphones) on your computer. Transferring downloads to a portable player just gives you the added benefit of being able to listen to them on the go.
Podcasting
What is podcasting?
Podcasting is a way to 'subscribe' to audio updates and have them delivered to your computer. The audio files on Patient UK are all in mp3 format, and once saved, you can listen to them on your computer, or transfer them to a portable mp3 player for listening to on the go.
To receive a podcast, you will need an internet connection and a piece of podcasting software, which is generally available free of charge (click here for list).
How do I receive a Patient UK podcast?
If a topic has a podcast available, there will be an 'xml' icon at the top of the page (
). Clicking on this will take you to another page, showing the url (address) of the audio file you're interested in. All you need to do is copy the url and paste it into the subscription (feed) address area in your podcasting software. Getting the podcasting software to check for new podcasts on this subscription will result in the retrieval of the associated mp3 file.
Clicking the 'Return to document' link will take you back to the topic page.
Do I need to have an mp3 player or iPod to subscribe to podcasts?
No - all you need is a computer with an internet connection and some podcasting software, generally available free of charge (click here for list). Transferring podcast downloads to a portable player just gives you the added benefit of being able to listen to them on the go.