The following Pathfinder is intended to step you through the basic library research process for
identifying resources relating to the
Health Concentration.
Health: "The state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and,
according to the
World Health Organization (WHO), not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."--
The Social Work Dictionary
(5th ed.).
This pathfinder is intended to help social workers locate information that will better
enhance their own knowledge and understanding of health issues that affect their clients. The
health issues include such topics as coping with acute or chronic illness, and locating information
pertaining to community health, preventive medicine, policy, and health service delivery.
Consult the
Steps to Research and Writing
a Paper for more detailed information.
References to book and journal titles and their call numbers and locations are specific to items
owned by the MSASS Harris Library and Case Western Reserve University libraries (although in most
cases the resources can be found in other academic and public libraries). The websites that are
included at the end of the Pathfinder are intended as a starting point for research on the Internet
and are not meant to be inclusive.
1. Start by locating resources that provide an overview of your topic.
This will help you define terms in that discipline and provide background information in your
subject area.
Encyclopedias
,
handbooks
and
subject specific dictionaries
offer good places to start.
Some titles specifically related to health are:
American Hospital Association. (1997/1998-2003/2004).
AHA
guide to the health care field (Vols. 1-7). Chicago, IL: Healthcare Infosource, Inc.
American Psychiatric Association. (2000).
Diagnostic and statistical manual of
mental disorders: DSM-IV-TR (4th ed., text revision). Washington, DC: Author.
Anderson, K. N. (Ed.). (1998).
Mosby's medical, nursing, & allied
health dictionary. (5th ed.). St. Louis: Mosby.
Aronstein, D. M., & Thompson, B. J. (Eds.). (1998).
HIV and social work: A practitioner's
guide. Binghamton, NY: Harrington Park Press.
Campbell, R. J. (1996).
Psychiatric dictionary (7th ed).
New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Fink, G. (Ed.). (2000).
Encyclopedia of stress (Vols.
1-3). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
First, M. B., & Tasman, A. (Eds.). (2004).
DSM-IV-TR mental disorders: Diagnosis,
etiology, and treatment. Chichester, West Sussex, England; Hoboken, NJ: J. Wiley.
Galea, S., & Vlahov, D. (Eds.). (2005).
Handbook of urban health: Populations,
methods, and practice. New York: Springer. [Also available online at
OhioLINK EBC]
Laws, T. (2006).
A handbook of men's health.
Edinburgh; New York: Churchill Livingstone.
Loue, S., & Sajatovic, M. (Eds.). (2004).
Encyclopedia of women's health.
New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
Martin, E. A. (Ed.). (2007).
Concise medical dictionary (7th
ed.). [Oxford]: Oxford University Press. Retrieved December 3, 2007, from Oxford
Reference Online,
http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/BOOK_SEARCH.html?book=t60.
The Merck Manuals. (1999-2007). Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck & Co.,
Inc. Retrieved December 3, 2007, from
http://www.merck.com.
Physicians'
desk reference: PDR: Oradell, NJ: Medical Economics Co.
U.S. National Library of Medicine & National Institutes of Health. (2003).
Index to Drug-Specific Information. Retrieved December 3, 2007 from
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginformation.html.
U.S. National Library of Medicine & National Institutes of Health. (2005).
Medical Encyclopedia. Retrieved December 3, 2007 from
http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/DrugSafety/DrugIndex.htm.
Watkins, J. (2005).
Professional guide to diseases
(8th ed.). Ambler, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Worell, J., & Goodheart, C. D. (Eds.). (2006).
Handbook of girls' and women's
psychological health. New York: Oxford University Press.
Back to Top
2. Search the online catalog for additional books that will give you the history, context,
definitions and theories.
Define the terms that you want to use when you are doing a search for materials. If you do a
subject search in the online catalog, the system limits you to using predefined Library of Congress
Subject Headings.
Click here for
more information on doing a subject search.
Some subject headings for health (in alphabetical order):
Alternative medicine
Alzheimer's disease
Autism
Cancer
Diseases
Drug abuse
Eating disorders
Health
Health behavior
Health care teams
Health education
Health promotion
Health risk assessment
Health status indicator
Health surveys
HIV infections
Manic-depressive illness
Medicaid
Medicare
Medicine
Methamphetamine
Poverty-health aspects
Substance abuse
Transcultural medical care
When doing research on health-related topics, you may want to do a subject search using "Medical
Subject Headings" or "MeSH" in the Library Catalog. MeSH is the current authority list of both
keywords and phrases used by the National Library of Medicine to analyze medical/health subjects.
The Cleveland Health Sciences Libraries (Allen Library & Health Center Library) use MeSH for
their subject cataloging; this is where most of the current medical information can be located on
Case's campus.
Doing a keyword search will give you many more titles than a subject search and may help you
focus the results. When you do a keyword search the system looks in the title, subject and table of
contents fields.
Click here for more
information on doing a keyword search.
To do effective keyword searching, you will need to think of
concepts and terms related to
your topic. Consulting a thesaurus will help you find synonyms for concepts.
Click here for a list of
thesauri owned by the Harris Library.
The following thesaurus provides health-related terms and concepts:
MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) is
an online thesaurus specific to this topic. It is available through the National Library of
Medicine.
Doing a keyword search will also give you many more titles than a subject search and may help
you focus your results. When you do a keyword search, the system looks in the title, subject and
table of content fields.
Click here for more
information on doing a keyword search.
caregiving (caregiv*)
chronic illness
ethics
health care services
health promotion
living wills
You can do a key word search from this pathfinder.
Enter your search terms just as you would from the keyword search menu in the online catalog
and then click on "search."
Back to Top
3. Find some general articles on your topic.
After you have located books on your topic, you will want to look for general journal articles
in your subject area. Case and OhioLINK offer several general databases. These include: Expanded
Academic ASAP, Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, Periodical Abstracts, SIRS Researcher, and Social
Sciences Index. These databases provide a mix of popular magazine articles and scholarly research
articles. You can get to these databases by choosing the Research Databases option in the
Library Catalog.
Note:
Access is limited to authorized users.
TIP: When you search in general databases, you will sometimes retrieve citations
to book reviews related to your topic. These book reviews may be helpful in leading you to book
titles and/or authors in your area of interest.
Back to Top
4. Search subject specific databases for more scholarly journal articles.
Once you have assembled general journal articles on your topic, you can begin focusing on
scholarly research articles. Citations, abstracts and, sometimes, the full-text of journal articles
are found in a variety of databases available through Case Western Reserve University and OhioLINK
to
authorized users.
Case and OhioLINK databases are available by clicking on
Research Databases in the
Library Catalog.
The World Wide Web also makes available a range of databases. Some of these require a
subscription fee to be paid; others are free.
Click here to view a list
of selected databases available on the Web that are related to social work and the social
sciences.
Literature on health is found in many disciplines. Some of the databases that will have articles
on this topic include:
AccessMedicine
provides answers to clinical questions from recognized sources. You can narrow
down a search by resource, topic, or browse the A-Z index for the complete text and illustrations
of leading clinical resources in the field. [Listed December 17, 2007.]
AGELINE is available electronically through the
Case Research Databases list and as afree database on the Web. It provides
bibliographic coverage on aging in a social, psychological, health related and economic context and
is published by the American Association of Retired Persons. It has selected coverage from
1966-1977, and inclusive coverage from 1978 to the present. [Listed January 18, 2002.
Last updated November 7, 2005.]
Alt Health Watch, available electronically throught the
Case Research Databases list, focuses
on the many perspectives of complementary, holistic, and integrated approaches to health care and
wellness. [Listed December 17, 2007.]
CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health)
is available electronically through the
OhioLINK Research Databases and the
Case Research Databases. It indexes
literature relating to nursing, education, behavioral sciences, social services, and health care.
Most of the entries included the reference list for the cited article. Coverage is from 1982
forward. This index corresponds to the printed publication
Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health. (Listed November 7, 2005. Last updated
November 8, 2005.]
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, available electronically throught the
Case Research Databases list,
provides reliable and up-to-date information on the effectiveness of interventions that include
drugs, therapies, diagnosis, and screening, the organization of healthcare and health
promotion. Includes full text systematic literature reviews prepared by The Cochrane
Collaboration. [Listed December 17, 2007.]
Education Abstracts
is available electronically through the
OhioLINK Research Databases. The database covers a wide
range of contemporary education issues, including government funding, community partnerships,
multicultural education and counseling. The database cites articles in over 470 English-language
periodicals, monographs, and yearbooks. The full-text of some articles is available. Coverage is
from 1983 through present. [Listed May 10, 2002.]
ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center)
is available electronically through the
OhioLINK Research Databases and as a
free database on the Web. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of
Education, it indexes over 750 professional journals, as well as the Resources in Education File
which contains documents from a wide variety of organizations. Coverage is from 1966
forward.. [Listed August 22, 2005.]
Family & Society Studies Worldwide (1970-present) is available electronically
through the
Case Research Databases. It is a core
resource on family and gender related topics. It covers over 800,000 records drawn from journals,
books, conference and working papers government reports, and websites in the social science
disciplines. Citations from the
Inventory of Marriage & Family Literature and the
Australian Family & Society Abstracts are included. [Listed November 7, 2005.
Last updated November 11, 2005.]
Health and Psychosocial Instruments (HAPI) is an online resource for locating
information on measurement instruments. It is available online thru the
Case Research Databases option in
EuclidPLUS. This database is used for locating quantitative and qualitative questionnaires, rating
scales, projective techniques and other instruments. Information is abstracted from journals and
covers health, psychosocial sciences, and organizational behavior. Coverage is current.
[Listed January 18, 2002.]
MEDLINE / Medline Advanced / PubMed
is available electronically through the
OhioLINK Research Databases (MEDLINE) and as a free
database on the Web through the
National Library of Medicine or through the National Library
of Medicine or through the National Library of Medicine's
PubMed
. MEDLINE contains over 13 million records from 1966 forward. PubMed also contains citations
pre-1966 and additional information not included in MEDLINE. The subject areas covered include
medicine, nursing, and the health care system. This index corresponds to the printed publication
Index Medicus. [Listed November 7, 2005. Last updated November 11, 2005.]
PsycINFO
is available electronically through the
OhioLINK Research Databases. The database indexes the
world's literature in psychology and related disciplines. It covers over 1900 journals as well as
books, and individual book chapters. The coverage is from 1967 forward. This index corresponds to
the printed publication
Psychological Abstracts
.
PsycINFO Historical is a different
database that covers similar information between the years 1887-1966. [Listed November 7,
2005. Last updated November 11, 2005.]
Social Work Abstracts is available electronically through the
Case Research Databases list. It
contains more than 45,000 records from 1700 social work related journals. Topics covered include
service delivery, social work practice, homelessness, aging, child and family welfare, community
organization, and substance abuse. The coverage is from 1977 to the present. This database
corresponds with the printed publication
Social Work Abstracts
. [Listed November 7, 2005. Last updated November 11, 2005.]
CAUTION: The setup will vary for different databases. In many databases if you
type in a phrase the system will look for the exact phrase. It does not add an "
and" between words. So if you type "urban poverty homeless" you will get zero
results because it will look for those words in that exact order. It is often clearer to enter one
term at a time and combine the end results.
TIP: Look in the descriptor field and/or use the online thesaurus to lead you to
additional terms.
NOTE: Online databases are distributed nationally and are not specific to Case
Western Reserve University. The University will not own all the journals that are cited in the
databases.
Click here for
information on finding journal titles in the online catalog.
Back to Top
5. Browse current issues of journals that contain literature on your topic.
Click here for a list of journals to which the MSASS Harris Library subscribes.
Journals that are most likely to contain information on the topic of health include:
Aids Care online at:
EBSCOhost.
E-Journal
Portal. (Public catalog)
American Family Physician online at:
E-Journal
Portal. (Public catalog)
American Heart Journal online at:
OhioLINK.
E-Journal
Portal. (Public catalog)
American Journal of Medicine online at: E-Journal Portal.
(Public catalog)
American Journal of Psychiatry online at:
Psychiatryonline.
E-Journal
Portal. (Public catalog)
American Journal of Psychoanalysis online at:
OhioLINK. E-Journal
Portal. (Public catalog)
American Journal of Public Health online at:
PubMed
Central.
E-Journal
Portal. (Public catalog)
Bipolar Disorders online at:
OhioLINK.
E-Journal
Portal. (Public catalog)
Family & Community Health online at:
E-Journal
Portal. (Public catalog)
Health & Social Work online at:
E-Journal
Portal. (Public catalog)
Journal of Aging & Social Policy online at:
Haworth.
E-Journal
Portal. (Public catalog)
Journal of Community Health online at:
OhioLINK. E-Journal
Portal. (Public
catalog)
Journal of Health & Social Policy online at:
Haworth.
E-Journal
Portal. (Public
catalog) [Title changed to: Social Work in Public Health]
The Journal of Pediatrics online at:
OhioLINK.
E-Journal
Portal. (Public
catalog)
Journal of Poverty online at:
Haworth.
E-Journal
Portal. (Public catalog)
Journal of Substance Abuse online at:
OhioLINK.
E-Journal
Portal. (Public catalog)
Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment online at:
OhioLINK, EBSCOhost.
E-Journal
Portal. (Public catalog)
New England Journal of Medicine online at:
E-Journal
Portal. (Public
catalog)
Pediatrics online at:
E-Journal
Portal. (Public
catalog)
Social Work in Health Care online at:
Haworth.
E-Journal
Portal. (Public
catalog)
***
New***
Social Work in Public Health online at:
Haworth. (Public catalog)
Women & Health online at:
Haworth.
E-Journal
Portal. (Public
catalog)
Additional journals that cover general topics in sociology and social studies are available in
the
Electronic
Journal Center and the
E-Journal Portal.
Back to Top
6. Do a Web search on the Internet for additional information.
Information located through the Internet can provide supplemental material to scholarly research
articles. Material retrieved from websites should always be
evaluated for
currency, authorship, bias and accuracy.
Following are selected websites that might be helpful when looking for information on health:
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
AHRQ is the lead Federal agency on quality of care research. It coordinates all federal
quality improvement efforts and health services research. The site is a useful resource for
locating grant announcements in the health fields, as well as research findings, consumer health
information, and clinical information. [Listed April 1, 2001. Last updated January 30, 2007.]
(AHRQ)
Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI)
AGI is a nonprofit organization focused on reproductive health research, policy analysis and
public education. The site provides policy papers, reports and statistics on topics such as
abortion, sexual behavior, teen pregnancy, contraception, etc. There is also access to the
Institute's publications:
Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health and
International Family Planning Perspectives, which are in PDF format. [Listed December 27,
2002.] (AGI)
American Medical Association Health Information
This site supports the ongoing mission of the AMA by providing "timely information on matters
important to the health of America." A link from this site goes to
Medem which provides extensive medical information culled from the nation's
leading medical associations.
Reference Links takes you to medical Web sites that have been screened by the
Library staff of the AMA's James S. Todd Memorial Library. The Medical sites fall under three
categories: Conditions and Illness-Related, Medical Indices and Lists, and U.S. Government sources.
[Listed April 1, 2001.] (AMA_Health)
Cancer Information Service
(CIS)
[1-800-422-6237]
This information is provided bythe National Cancer Institute, the Federal
Government's primary agency for cancer research. NCI operates the CIS toll-free
phone service that provides accurate current treatment, early detection, and supportive care
information on cancer to patients, their families, health professionals and the general
public. [Listed April 1, 2001. Last updated April 15, 2008.] (CIS)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
This site provides current reliable information about diseases, treatment, prevention,
data and statistics and many other resources. It also points you to information on
international travel health concerns, which include topics such as recommended vaccines, and
geographic health recommendations. This site also links to many non-Federal organizations. [Listed
April 1, 2001. Last updated December 19, 2007.] (CDC)
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
The CMS (formerly the Health Care Financing Administration) is the federal agency that
administers Medicare, Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). This site
provides information on statistics, laws, eligibility requirements, and research related to these
three programs. [Listed April 1, 2001, Last updated December 29, 2003.] (CMS)
Division of General Pediatrics & Adolescent Health
This Web site is produced by the University of Minnesota. It focuses on resources related to
research and training in the areas of general pediatrics, adolescent health, behavioral pediatrics,
child and youth mental health, and health services for children and youth with disabilities. The
site links to projects such as the
National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Research Center
and the
Youth & AIDS Projects
. [Listed May 18, 2001. Last updated July 18, 2003.] (DivPedAdol)
Health Information - National Institutes of Health
This site provides health information resources by the National Institutes of Health. The NIH
mission is to uncover new knowledge that will lead to better health for everyone. NIH works toward
that mission by: conducting research in its own laboratories; supporting the research of
non-Federal scientists in universities, medical schools, hospitals, and research institutions
throughout the country and abroad; helping in the training of research investigators; and fostering
communication of biomedical information. [Listed April 1, 2001. Last updated December 31, 2002.]
(NIHHealth)
Health on the Net Foundation (HON)
Established in 1994, HON is a not-for-profit International Swiss Organization whose mission
is to provide access to useful and reliable online medical and health information. A significant
contribution of this organization is the
HON Code of Conduct (HONcode), which was developed as a means of standardizing the
reliability of medical and health information available on the Web. The HON code defines a set of
principles that Web site developers should follow when creating a site containing medical or mental
health information. The
HONcode section of the site provides a list of the recommended principles. This
section also includes the
HONcode Hunt search box (keyword searches lead to approved HONcode sites) and the
HONcode Site Checker. The home page also offers access to medical illustrations
through the
HONmedia feature. [Listed April 23, 2001.] (HON)
Healthfinder
This site is a gateway consumer health and human services information web site from the
United States government. It can lead you to selected online publications, clearinghouse,
databases, web sites, and support and self-help groups. This information can help you find and help
you make better choices for yourself and your family about health and human services needs. [Listed
April 1, 2001.] (Healthfinder)
HealthGate
Is a site used to facilitate improvements in patient care, biomedical research, and education
by employing state-of-the-art technology to make information access and coverage both thorough and
easy, while maintaining the highest standards of academic and scientific integrity. [Listed April
1, 2001.] (HealthGate)
InteliHealth
A consumer-oriented site funded by Aetna, InteliHealth distills health information from a
variety of sources including the Harvard Medical Schools and the University of Pennsylvania School
of Dental Medicine. The site allows the user to search for information on specific drugs and
diseases and provides separate sections for women, men, children, and seniors. [Listed April 23,
2001. Last updated July 18, 2003.] (InteliHealth)
MEDLINEplus Health Information
This comprehensive site is produced by the National Library of Medicine in cooperation with
the National Institutes of Health. The site offers information on a variety of
Health Topics (as well as linking you to MEDLINE citations for related research
articles on that topic). Other features of the site include links to
Drug Information,
Dictionaries of medical terms, and
Directories of doctors and hospitals. There is also a link to information on
Clinical Trials coordinated by the National Institutes of Health.
[Listed April 23, 2001.] (MedlinePlus)
MedlinePlus: Men's Health
MedlinePlus provides a vast array of information on men's health issues, research, health
care services, and education that have historically placed the health of men at risk.
There is also a vast array of information on women's health issues. [Listed December 19,
2007.] (MedlinePMen)
Medscape
Medscape is an interactive, multi-specialty, commercial Web service for clinicians and
consumers. The health information available provides clinicians and other healthcare professionals
with clinical information that is directly applicable to their patients and practice. Access to
Medscape is FREE, but requires a one-time membership registration. [Listed April 1, 2001. Last
updated July 21, 2003.] (Medscape)
National Academy on an Aging Society
This non-partisan policy instutute "conducts research on issues related to population aging
and provides information to the public, the press, policymakers, and the academic community."
Research is focused on issues such as income and health security. The site provides the full-text
of reports and background papers on topics such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Fact
sheets and data profiles are also available. [Listed April 1, 2001. Last updated July 21, 2003.]
(NAAg)
National Cancer Institute
A division of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. This website has information for
the consumber about all types of cancer, prevention, treatment, coping, statistics and much
more. [Listed December 19, 2007.] (NCI)
National Center for Health Statistics
The site, sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services, includes data on infant
and child health, pregnancy rates, diseases, births and deaths. [Listed April 1, 2001.] (NCHS)
National Library of Medicine
This site contains resources from the world's largest biomedical library. To locate
information on medical topics, search free MEDLINE using PubMed. MEDLINE (MEDlars onLINE) is the
National Library of Medicine's (NLM) premier bibliographic database covering the fields of
medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, and the preclinical
sciences. [Listed April 1, 2001. Last updated July 21, 2003.] (NLM)
National Women's Health Information Center
This center provides a gateway to the vast array of Federal and other women's health
information resources. [Listed May 18, 2001.] (NatWomHea)
Office of Minority Health
This Federal government office is under the auspices of the Department of Health and Human
Services. Its mission is to address disparities in existing health policies and programs that
adversely affect racial and ethnic populations in the United States. The site provides extensive
information around health disparities and provides links to its
Programs, Initiatives and
Resource Center. [Listed July 10, 2001. Last updated June 29, 2001.] (OMHRC)
Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)
The principal purpose of ONDCP is to establish policies, priorities, and objectives for the
Nation's drug control program, the goals of which are to reduce illicit drug use, manufacturing,
and trafficking, drug-related crime and violence; and drug-related health consequences. [Listed
April 1, 2001.] (ONDCP)
Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc.
Planned Parenthood "believes in the fundamental right of each individual, throughout the
world, to manage his or her fertility, regardless of the individual's income, marital status, race,
ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, or residence." This organization
advocates reproductive freedom as essential to women's rights. Current health information, research
reports, fact sheets, current government policy, plus much more are available here. [Listed January
27, 2004.] (PPFA)
Prescription Drug
Abuse
Information from the
Office of National Drug Control Policy
(ONDCP). This site provides trends, facts and statistics relating to the abuse of
prescription drugs. It also outlines procedures for the proper disposal of prescription
medications. [Listed December 19, 2007.] (PDA/ONDCP)
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
(SAMHSA)
This comprehensive federal government site provides a good overview of government programs
that are addressing mental health concerns, as well as substance abuse issues. The site includes
direct links to The Center for Mental Health Services, The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention,
and The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. The website includes access to statistics, reports
and managed care initiatives. It can be searched by keyword. A one-stop resource that
provides health care information prevention, diagnosis, and treatment services for substance abuse
and mental illnesses. [Listed April 1, 2001. Last updated December 19,
2007.] (SAMHSA)
U.S. Food & Drug Administration
Good and current reliable consumer health medical information on topics such as:
medicines, vaccines, women's health, clinical trials, etc. Use the search index to look up
any medical related topic. [Listed December 19, 2007.] (US/FDA)
WebMD
WebMD is a public portal for physicians, healthcare professionals and consumers of
healthcare. It provides health information through health-focused publications. This
tool is easy to use and will provide you with helpful health resources. [Listed December 19,
2007.] (WebMD)
The Weight-Control Information Network (WIN)
WIN is an information service of the
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney
Diseases (NIDDK),
National Institutes of Health (NIH). It was
established to provide the general public, health professionals, the media, and Congress with
up-to-date science-based information on obesity, weight control, physical activity, and related
nutritional issues. [Listed December 19, 2007.] (WIN)
Back to Top
7. Evaluate the information you have collected from books and articles.
Consult the bibliographies of the books and articles you have selected. This will lead you to
additional references and authors to investigate. Make notes of the gaps in your literature so that
you can use this information when you do additional searches.
Click here for more
information on evaluating the information you have collected.
