The Cochrane Library is available freely throughout England under the terms of a Department of Health contract with the publishers, Wiley. It incorporates the following:
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The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (Cochrane reviews)
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Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (other reviews)
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The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (clinical trials)
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The Cochrane Methodology Register (methods studies)
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Health Technology Assessment Database (technology assessments)
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NHS Economic Evaluation Database (economic evaluations)
and is readily accessible via the National Library for Health web site. Similar access is available in other countries of the UK.
PubMed, which incorporates the MEDLINE database together with some additional resources, is freely available at www.pubmed.gov. It is a very useful resource for midwifery searches, particularly on more "medical" topics. A National Library of Medicine tutorial on the use of PubMed is available. King's College London has also produced its own guide, Searching for literature using PubMed.
ACUBASE is a database of over 11,000 French and English references and full text articles dedicated specifically to the discipline of acupuncture. It also includes conference proceedings.
AEGiS is a comprehensive, freely-available web-based source for HIV/AIDS-related information, including reference materials and late-breaking information from HIV/AIDS-specific publications and news sources from around the world. AEGiS works to disseminate potentially life-saving information and to archive all files in a permanent virtual library of the AIDS pandemic.
AEGiS is the definitive web-based source for HIV/AIDS-related information, offering reference materials, specific publications and news sources from around the world.
CAMbase is a virtual search engine with modern XML-based retrieval-technology, that enables the user to easily find relevant literature of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in different resources. The interface is available in English and German. The Complementary Medicine Unit at the Peninsula Medical School, Universities of Exeter and Plymouth is one of the contributing partners.
The Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Pain database (CAMPAIN), maintained by the University of Maryland School of Medicine Center for Integrative Medicine.For details of additional resources on complementary and alternative medicine, please visit the New Zealand Guidelines Group's list of evaluated resources, the NLH's Complementary and Alternative Medicine Specialist Library, and the databases page on the Research Council for Complementary Medicine site.
DrugData is the library database of DrugScope, the drug information charity. It is a searchable database of over 100,000 records of drugs literature in the English language, covering journal articles, books and reports. The material is of relevance to substance misuse in pregnancy.
POPLINE, the world's largest bibliographic database on population, family planning, and related issues, is now available free of charge on the Internet. All 280,000 citations, representing published and unpublished literature, can be accessed for no charge. There are ready-made searches available on topics, such as adolescent pregnancy, AIDS, breastfeeding, domestic abuse, FGM, maternal and neonatal health. Individuals from developing countries can request up to 15 fulltext documents per day through the document delivery service.
The Source bibliographic database contains 25,000 items relating to health in developing countries. Mother and child health is one of the key topic areas. The content may be browsed or searched. As well as a bibliographic database, Source includes searchable databases of health organisations and distributors of free or low-cost health and disability information resources.
Social Care Online, which is produced by SCIE, the Social Care Institute for Excellence, covers all aspects of social care. It may be useful for researching topics such as domestic violence, teenage pregnancy, substance misuse, and social exclusion. Content is drawn from a range of resources including journal articles, websites, research reviews, legislation and government documents, and service user knowledge.
