MAHSLIN Expert Searcher


Expert Searching: Public Health

Page created by Brandy King

Databases

  • Best Practices Database (Available free online)
    Created by the Together Foundation and UN-HABITAT, this database of best practices in community improvement is available in English, French and Spanish. Users can search by main topic (18 categories such as Poverty Eradication or Land Use Management – each topic is divided into sub-topics for precision); by ecosystem (8 categories such as Coastal or Mountain); by region (choice of each continent); by scale (8 categories ranging from village to global scale); or by a combination of factors. Results include a both a short summary and a more lengthy narrative of the program, and contact information for those who managed the implementation.

  • BIREME Virtual Health Library (Available free online)
    This specialized center of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and focuses mainly on Latin American countries. Users can search a collection of databases of scientific literature; select from a list of health topics for a pre-formatted search; or use the structured vocabulary list developed from a combination of MeSH terms and a specialized public health terminology.

  • CDC Wonder - Wide-ranging OnLine Data for Epidemiologic Research (Available free online)
    Maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and arranged in both alphabetical and topic directories, this database contains reports, recommendations, web links, and journal articles on many public health concerns. Additionally, users can search for publicly available data sets about many of the health topics. This data is available to download into plain text, spreadsheets, or HTML.

  • CDC Recommends – Prevention Guidelines System
    This new database includes title and phrase searching, and relevancy ranking, but does not include the topic directory or a complete list of documents.

  • CHID – The Combined Health Information Database
    This database contains over 84,000 citations and is maintained by the health-related agencies of the US Federal Government. The database contains information on twelve health topics: AIDS, Alzheimers. Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, Alternative Medicine, Communication Disorders, Diabetes, Digestive Diseases, Kidney and Urologic Diseases, Maternal and Child Health, Medical Genetics and Rare Disorders, Oral Health and Weight Control. Coverage begins as far back as 1978 for some topics, and as recently as 1997 for others.

  • 3 Databases from EPPI-Centre (Evidence for Policy and Practice Information) (Available free online)
    These databases are maintained by the EPPI-Centre at the University of London. The EPPI-Centre focuses on organizing and reviewing research on evidence-based interventions. Their work has been divided into 3 specific databases:
  • Bibliomap – bibliographic database with over 9,000 studies collected during the process of systematic review. By clicking on the “Select Keywords”
    button, users can search by study design, language, geographic location of a study, population, intervention type, and other useful parameters.
  • Database of Promoting Health Effectiveness Reviews (DoPHER) – database containing 700 reviews of the effectiveness of various methods of health
    promotion. By clicking on the “Select Keywords” button, users can search by study design, geographic location of a study, intervention type, quality
    assessment status, data extraction methods, and other useful parameters.
  • Trials Register of Promoting Health Interventions (TRoPHI) – database containing over 1,000 controlled trials collected during the process of systematic
    reviews. Users can search by keyword. By clicking on the “Select Keywords” button, users can search by study design, language, geographic location of a
    study, population, intervention type, and other useful parameters.
  • Healthy People 2010 (Available free online)
    Three organizations have worked to maintain this database: The National Library of Medicine, the Public Health Foundation, and the National Network of Libraries of Medicine. The main page allows for preformulated searching of PubMed according to the focus areas of Healthy People 2010, a list of national health objectives. Users can alternatively search by type of resource, search for data sets, and look at funding opportunities.

  • Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database
    This database provides access to evidence-based information about herbals and other natural medicines. This is the most comprehensive, scientifically-based, and practical database on natural medicines available anywhere. Patient Ed version available.

  • NHS Economic Evaluation Database (Available free online)
    Produced by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination at the University of York, this database provides systematic and in-depth analysis of research on the cost-effectiveness of health implementations. Each systematic review is written by a health economist who appraises the reliability and quality of the research. The full-text of each review can be downloaded in text format.

    Search Strategies/Tips

    PICO: Think of a patron’s search question in terms of the following acronym and you should have all of the relevant information to begin an effective search.
    P – Population, patient, or problem
    I – Intervention
    C – Comparison
    O – Outcome

    Example: A public health student is doing an internship with adolescents, but finds that most of them spend their free time engaging in sedentary behavior such as watching TV or playing video games, rather than engaged in physical activity. She is interested in finding programs that have gotten kids up and moving.
    P – Population and Problem – adolescents and sedentary behavior, media use
    I – Intervention – physical activity program
    C – Not applicable here
    O – Increase in physical activity and/or decrease in sedentary behavior

    Searchable question: Have there been any successful programs implemented for sedentary adolescents which have increased physical activity and decreased media use?

    Webpages strong in searching this subject

  • Kaiser Family Foundation
  • Pan American Health Organization
  • Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce
  • UNICEF
  • World Health Organization (WHO)

    Journal articles about searching in this specialty

  • Beverley, C. A., Booth, A., and Bath, P. A. (2003). The Role of the Information Specialist in the Systematic Review Process: A Health Information Case
    Study. Health Information & Libraries Journal 20(2), 65-74.
  • Koo, D., O'Carroll, P., and LaVenture, M. (2001). Public Health 101 for Informaticians. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association
    8(6), 585-97.
  • Yasnoff, W. A., O'Carroll, P. W., Koo, D., Linkins, R. W., and Kilbourne, E. M. (2000). Public Health Informatics: Improving and Transforming Public
    Health in the Information Age. Journal of Public Health Management & Practice 6(6), 67-75.

    Subject specialists/librarians who will offer search assistance to other librarians

  • Brandy King, Librarian, Center on Media and Child Health