Databases and Websites in Medicine & Nursing


Databases - scholarly materials, citation indexes and full text
E Books - use free electronic texts when you can't find the printed book 
Newspapers and other news outlets for local and national coverage
Specialized Search Engines - gateway sites, specialized search engines, Web portals
Web Directories - subject guides to selective and carefully chosen sites on the Web  

Web Search in a Nutshell - getting started in library research 

Subscription Databases Available Only to the WSU Community

MEDLINE Created by the National Library of Medicine, users can search abstracts from over 4,000 current biomedical journals. Authoritative medical information on medicine, nursing, psychiatry, the health care system, and more. We have 3 different ways to access MEDLINE:
Need help choosing between the different platforms?  (3 pages, PDF)

• Medline via EBSCOHost  

• Medline via ProQuest 

• Free via the PubMed site available from any Internet connection (Pub Med Search Tips) PDF

EBSCO databases for Nursing. In addition to general academic databases, there are separate indexes devoted exclusively to medical and health topics.  

• PsycINFO. Over 1.5 million records from 1887 to the present in what is considered to be the most comprehensive international database of psychology. Includes academic research and practice literature in the fields of medicine, psychiatry, education, social work, social science and organizational behavior.
• Biomedical Reference Collection: Basic. Designed for doctors, nurses, students, clinical specialists with access to 100 full text journals covering clinical medicine, nursing, health care system, etc. All 100 journals are also indexed in MEDLINE.
• CINAHLwith Full Text - The authoritative resource for over 1,700 nursing and allied health journals, now with more full text. 
• Health Source: Consumer Edition -  food and nutrition, childcare, sports medicine, and general health. Full text for nearly 300 journals including Consumer Reports on Health and Men's Health, as well as abstracts and indexing for 180 general health and professional health care publications.
• MEDLINE - created by the National Library of Medicine, users can search abstracts from over 4,800 current biomedical journals.  (Search Tips Sheet - in PDF)   

ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Source - provides users with reliable healthcare information covering nursing, allied health, alternative and complementary medicine, and more. This database is designed to meet the needs of researchers at healthcare facilities as well as nursing and allied health programs at academic institutions. Provides abstracting and indexing for more than 690 titles, with over 570 titles in full-text. 

Health Reference Center Academic -   From InfoTrac Web. Over 2.5 million articles; can limit to full text and/or peer reviewed. Access to this database is made possible by funding from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, and the six Massachusetts Regional Library Systems. 
 
Proquest. Includes Biology and Medical databases: Biology Digest (1989+), MEDLINE, and TOXLINE (1994+).  Also contains a free Hot Topics section - "discovery" guides with overviews, key citations, selected websites, and extensive bibliographies. Recent topics added are Anthrax, bipolar disorders, and genetically modified foods. (Medline CSA Search Tips Sheet) PDF

Public Affairs International.  Public affairs and worlds issues with coverage from 1972 to the present. An index to over 1/2 million articles, books, government documents, Internet sites and documents from more than 120 countries. Obviously useful for global issues such as affirmative action, AIDS, ethnicity, climate change, political persecution, women's rights, war and conflict, etc. 

McGraw Hill's Encyclopedia of Science and Technology is the complete text of the best-selling 10th edition and includes the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms. The site also includes weekly news updates on breakthroughs and discoveries in science and technology resources for students, and links to Web sites for further research. Full access to 7,100 articles, 115,000 dictionary terms, and  it is updated daily.  

Gale Virtual Reference Library. Available through InfoTrac. Contains full text of standard reference works:

• Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine 2nd ed. (2005) 4 volumes
• Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer (2006) 2nd ed. 2 volumes
• Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders (2006) 2nd ed. 2 volumes
• Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine (2006) 3rd ed. 5 volumes
• Encyclopedia of Bioethics 3rd ed. (2004) 5 volumes

Dictionary of Nursing - 4th ed. (2003) from Oxford Reference Online. Over 10,000 entries,. Accident and emergency, trauma, public health medicine, and theory and practice of nursing are all covered in addition to the latest expanding vocabulary of the nursing professions.

Gerontological Society of America. - search 3 journals full-text from 2000+ and abstracts from February 1989+  

[Top]

Other Web Resources - selective list of free sites

• CyberNurse - Practical advice for nurses and nursing students. A well-written and entertaining site, online since 1997.
• Global Health Facts - A data bank of world health information, can sort by country, disease, condition, program, or demographic
• Gray's Anatomy - classic edition (1918). Searchable by keyword, table of contents, or subject. Contains 13,000 entries. Current print edition in WSC Reference.
• Lippincott Nursing Center - a broad-based site offering links to a wealth of information specific to nurses, including 50 journals - some articles available for a small fee ($6.95)
• Martindale's Virtual Nursing Center - great number of resources, updated daily. Covers case studies, online journals, cross-sectional images to learn anatomy. 
• Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy - 18th ed., 2005 Covers a wide range of information for both patients and health care professionals
• Medline Plus Dictionary
• Medpedia - A collaborative encyclopedia and resource for information about health, medicine and the body edited by physicians & Ph.D.s
• Nurse Web Search - links to the top ten nursing web sites, search box to locate Internet resources, other search engines, NLM/NIH resources, focus sites on specific conditions; also links to general search engines.
• Nursing Sites on the WWW - from the University of Buffalo Health Science Library
• Nursing World - from the American Nurses Assoc.
• Physician's Desk Reference - Disease overviews, clinical trials, drug information
• Specialized Information Service - a division of the National Library of Medicine, responsible for information resources and services in toxicology, environmental health, chemistry, HIV/AIDS, and specialized topics in minority health
• US Pharmacopeia - 
• Whole Health MD - a source for alternative medicine, complementary medicine, and integrative medicine. A searchable site combining the best of conventional medicine and alternative therapies. Features the Healing Kitchen and a Reference Library of chronic conditions, supplements, food, and a glossary.

Full Text Sources in Medicine:

• High Wire Press - largest archive of free full-text articles in science and medicine; assisting in the online publication of 1.5 million free full-text articles in the life sciences
• Free Medical Journals - 1,481 journals - not always the latest issues as electronic availability is sometimes held by the publishers for 6 months.
• Free Books 4 Doctors - anyone can read the 365  medical texts, 38 of which are in Spanish. 
• National Academies Press - read more than 3,000 books free online; purchase chapters in PDF format
• National Center for Biotechnology Information Medical Bookshelf -  The Bookshelf is a growing collection of biomedical books that can be searched directly by typing a concept into the textbox. From NCBI with links to abstracts in PubMed
• Medical Image Database - images can be browsed by organ system,  users can offer their own diagnosis before learning the particulars of each discrete medical case case that has been selected by the peer review board. Site also features an advanced search engine for users who know exactly what they want
• E Books - use free electronic texts when you can't find the printed book 

[Top]

Government Resources 

• Finding Medical Statistics on a Topic - From the National Institutes of Health; Includes federal and international links.
• National Center for Health Statistics - (NCHS) Part of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, NCHS serves as the primary federal organization responsible for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of health statistics. Includes data on vital events as well as information on health status, lifestyle and exposure to unhealthy influences, the onset and diagnosis of illness and disability, and the use of health care.
• National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine -  (CAM) From the National Institutes of Health. "Dedicated to exploring complementary and alternative healing practices in the context of rigorous science, training complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) researchers, and disseminating authoritative information to the public and professionals."
• State Health Facts - Data is available for demographics and the economy, health status, health coverage, Medicaid and Medicare, health costs, managed care, minority health, women's health, HIV/AIDS, and more. Individual state profiles are available as well as 50 state comparisons.
• Vital Statistics - Centers for Disease Control. Stats for Birth,Mortality, and Perinatal mortality.

Find other government sites in health and medicine with our Research Guide to Government sites

Best of the Consumer Health Sites

Reliable consumer health & medical information is notoriously difficult to find on the Web, especially for patients. Check these sites to find quality health information for your patients, friends, or yourself.

• MedlinePlus - meta site with selective links which are carefully evaluated and kept up to date. The most popular section is the drug information in plain English which features prescription drugs, over the counter medicines, herbs and supplements. Easy to read materials, interactive slide shows, real time videos of surgery and more.
• WebMD - a leading provider of online information, educational services and communities for physicians and consumers
• Family Doctor - from the American Academy of Family Physicians
• InteliHealth - featuring Harvard Medical School's Consumer Health Information, sponsored by Aetna Insurance 
• MayoClinic - Excellent source of health information for the general public provided by the well-respected Mayo Clinic. Also has resource libraries in areas such as cancer, pregnancy, women's health, etc.
• Medicine Net - . Doctor-produced by a network of over 70 U.S. Board Certified Physicians. Easy-to-read, in-depth, authoritative medical information for consumers, user-friendly, interactive web site. Owned and operated by WebMD
• A Healthy Me - from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. Has news, special self-care sections such as high blood pressure, weight control, prostate health; also covers current issues such as prescription drug cards.
• Healthline - medical search engine offers medically filtered results developed by trained medical personnel. Formerly Your Doctor.com.
• Revolution Health - "Learning Centers" by disease/conditions, drug information, community sites, and "module" based info (diabetes, heart disease, etc.)
• Centers for Disease Control – Health topics from A to Z

[Top]

Search Engines  

These are "gateway" sites: they don't have medical information, but link you to sites that do. Less exciting than TV's Scrubs, but more practical.

• All Nurses - "It's how Nurses surf the Web"
• Medical Matrix - a free directory of selected medical sites on the Internet. Each site is carefully evaluated by reviewers with an emphasis on usefulness to health care practitioners. Free registration is required.
• MedHunt - from the Health on the Net (HON) Foundation, Switzerland. International, non-profit portal for medical information.
• Hardin Meta Directory of Internet Health Sources-Nursing. Access to comprehensive sites on health-related and nursing subjects. It is a list of lists, but the best on the 'Net - it leads you to sites containing health information. 
• Nursing and Healthcare on the Net- "A Gateway to evaluated, quality Internet resources in Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health professions, aimed at students and practitioners." UK site updated weekly with many European resources.
• Scirus - the "most comprehensive science-specific search engine on the Internet." Scirus searches over 200 million science-specific Web pages, enabling you to quickly pinpoint scientific, scholarly, technical and medical data on the Web, and find the latest reports, peer-reviewed articles, patents, pre prints and journals that general search engines miss. Now also handles the links to free documents cited in MEDLINE.
• Omni Medical Search - Basic search (for lay public) and Med Pro version for professionals. Searches Web sites, images, and medical news sources; also pointers to 72 medical databases, medical journals, medical associations and more.

Web Directories

There are excellent subject directories on the web. that can point you to the best online resources in specific areas of medicine. These human guides to the Internet are a great way to find the best of the Web, and often find sites that can't be accessed by search engines. The best ones to use in the medical fields for scholarly material are:

• IPL2 - Carefully chosen links to thousands of the best Websites for research information. You can search sections divided by Resources by Subject, Newspapers and Magazines, or Special Collections Created by the IPL2 – or simply enter your topic in the search box. Site formed by the Jan. 2010 merger of the Internet Public Library [IPL] and Librarians Internet Index [LII].
• InfoMine - Virtual library of scholarly Internet resources. Features well organized access; notable for its collection of annotated and indexed links.
• Academic Info - gateway to freely available academic resources on the web, with annotated entries. General links, related topics, in the news sections.

More subject directories on the web

[Top]