HARRIS LIBRARY

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.

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.

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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

Search the Library Catalog for: KEYWORD SUBJECT

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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)

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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.