LibGuides: Global Health: Getting Started with Research

Understanding Article Types

You may need to consult various databases depending on the topic and type of information you are seeking.

Here are some common article types used in global health research:

Primary research articles
Review articles
Systematic reviews
News
Grey literature

Article Types
1-page description of article types used in global health research.

Duke MCL Guide on Systematic Reviews

Keeping Current with RSS or Email Alerts

Most databases will let you create RSS feeds or email alerts to track new publications based on a particular journal or keyword that you would like to follow. Ask a librarian, if you need help!

PubMed NCBI Account
Create an NCBI account to track your searches and citations in PubMed.

Getting Started with Global Health Databases

Top global health databases

These databases range from large, interdisciplinary citation databases to health sciences-specific databases to special topic databases. Some databases will provide full-text access links, while others you will need to search for through our website. You can also browse databases by subject, such global health or psychology.

PubMed This link opens in a new window
Premier search engine for biomedical literature. Excellent source for global health topics, but look to other databases (Scopus, Web of Science, etc.) for broader interdisciplinary research.
Web of Science This link opens in a new window
Interdisciplinary science and social science articles. Choose 'All Databases' to include search of MEDLINE, or select MEDLINE to search it on its own.
Scopus This link opens in a new window
Interdisciplinary science and social science articles. Searches contents of MEDLINE (basis of Pubmed) and EMBASE.
Global Health This link opens in a new window
A public health database that provides citations, abstracts and selected full text for topics in global health. Good international coverage and content includes grey literature and material not included in other databases.
Embase This link opens in a new window
Search abstracts from EMBASE (1974-present) and Medline (1966-present)
Cochrane Library This link opens in a new window
Search for systematic reviews of primary research in human health care and health policy
UpToDate This link opens in a new window
Search for evidence-based articles about major health & medicine topics.

Global Health Observatory
Key statistics for global health research from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Global Index Medicus
From the WHO. Search the literature in regional medical indices, including AIM (AFRO), LILACS (AMRO/PAHO), IMEMR (EMRO), IMSEAR (SEARO), WPRIM (WPRO).

Article Databases for Global Health

AGRICOLA: Online Public Access Catalog This link opens in a new window
Search for article abstracts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Library. This is an open access database.
CINAHL Complete This link opens in a new window
Search nursing and allied health literature dating back to the 1980s
Environment Complete This link opens in a new window
Searches for journal articles and books in the areas of agriculture, ecosystem ecology, and energy
PAIS Index This link opens in a new window
Search articles, government documents, and grey literature related to international politics and public policy
Political Science Complete This link opens in a new window
Search for journal articles in political science and public policy
PsycInfo (APA) This link opens in a new window
Search for journal articles, book chapters, books, and technical reports in the field of psychology
Sociology Source Ultimate This link opens in a new window
Search for articles in the field of sociology

African Index Medicus
A joint initiative between the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Association for Health Information and Libraries in Africa (AHILA) to store regionally-generated biomedical information.
Index Medicus for the Eastern Mediterranean Region
Indexes the health and biomedical journals published in the Region since 1984.

LILACS This link opens in a new window
Search for Latin American and Caribbean literature in the health sciences from 1982 to the present.
SciELO Complete This link opens in a new window
Search for articles published in open access journals covering research in Latin America, Spain, Portugal, the Caribbean and South Africa. This is an open access database.

Global Health Now Global Health News from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Global Health Policy Blog Research and policy analysis news.
NPR Global Health Audio and news stories about Global Health.
Lancet Global Health Collection Articles, comments, seminars and Reviews focusing on health in low-income and middle-income countries.
Nature News
Science News

Top Cited Journals in Global Health

Finding Specific Articles, Journals, and Databases

Find the full text of a specific article by using the library's Articles search. Paste in the article title.
Find specific journals by title (ex. Social Science & Medicine) using the Online Journal Titles page.
Find specific research databases (ex. Pubmed) using the Research Databases page.

Can't find the article? Request articles that Duke doesn't own using interlibrary requests.