PUBHLTH 375 Case Studies in U.S. Health Policy

resources for Issue Brief assignment (course formerly PubHlth 390P)

Databases for Health Research

Look in these databases to find journal articles about your topic. Research studies can provide various types of information about the issue.

PubMed This link opens in a new window
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National Library of Medicine's comprehensive database of citations to medical journal articles, with links to UMass-subscribed full text, 1946-present. PubMed includes all MEDLINE content, plus content from additional journals and books in the life sciences.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
CINAHL Complete This link opens in a new window
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Current Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature Complete includes indexing back to 1937 of over 5,000 journals as well as full-text of over 1,300 journals, 27 books, 134 evidence-based care sheets, 360 research instruments records, 169 quick lessons and more.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
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Click on Advanced Search, then "Health Policy" is one of JSTOR's disciplines, with sources indexed including the Journal of Public Health Policy, Public Health Reports, and Milbank Quarterly. Also has a "Health Sciences" discipline.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.
Web of Science This link opens in a new window
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Index to articles from peer-reviewed journals in all disciplines.Search by cited reference, topic, author, and more. Arts and Humanities covers 1975-present; Social Sciences 1900-present; and Science 1900-present.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.

CRS Reports

Find CRS (Congressional Research Service) reports on current Public Health topics using the ProQuest Congressional database.

Use the advanced search feature to limit to just CRS reports.

ProQuest Legislative and Executive Publications This link opens in a new window
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Hearings, bills, laws and legislative histories, committee prints, Congressional Research Service reports, Congressional Record and predecessors, Executive Branch docs to 1939, and the Serial Set.
Available on campus to all, or off-campus to UMass Amherst students, staff and faculty with an UMass Amherst IT NetID (user name) and password.

Health Topics in the News

There are many places to find articles written more for the general population than career nurses or health professionals. Some suggested websites and journals:

New York Times - Health section
Create an account using the directions linked below, then you can browse the Health section.
ScienceDaily
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
EurekAlert! Science News Releases
Scientific American

Sign up for New York Times Online Access
UMass Amherst Libraries have purchased access to the New York Times Academic Pass program for the UMass Amherst campus. To register for your academic account to the New York Times, you'll need a UMass Amherst email address.

Follow the Registration instructions on our New York TImes Online guide to set up your account.