UKHSA staff can access a wide variety of databases provided by Knowledge and Library Services.
All the databases listed below are for UKHSA staff only unless otherwise specified.
If you work for OHID, NHS England Public Health or a local authority please visit the appropriate page for more information on resources available to you:
Search for a database by name using the search box at the top of the table. Access may require an OpenAthens or UKHSA login.
There is also a table of available database platforms and their contents.
We recommend using Microsoft Edge for the easiest access to resources. Firefox can be requested from the IT self-service software catalogue. Google Chrome is not recommended.
Contact us if you have any queries about accessing or using these databases.
| Database | Description |
|---|---|
| AMED Accessible by NHS OpenAthens account holders and UKHSA staff (Available via Dialog platform) | Bibliographic database from the British Library. Monitors 500+ journals relevant to alternative and complementary medicine, palliative care, and allied medical professions such as physiotherapy, podiatry and speech therapy. Includes key titles from the UK, continental Europe and Turkey, from 1985-present. |
| BMJ Best Practice Accessible by NHS OpenAthens account holders and UKHSA staff | BMJ Best Practice is aimed at healthcare professionals, it contains up-to-date, evidence-based and UK-focussed clinical information such as: • 400+ evidence-based patient leaflets, from abdominal aortic aneurysm to zika virus • 20 procedural videos on common clinical procedures such as venepuncture • 500+ interactive medical calculators • Evidence from Cochrane Clinical Answers. • Important updates about changes in evidence BMJ information and training resources |
| BNI: British Nursing Index (Available via Proquest platform) | Indexes 700+ nursing and midwifery journals, plus selected content from medical, allied health and health management journals, from 1994-present. The most up-to-date source for core UK titles and selected international titles. Proquest platform user guides |
| British Standards Online | British Standards Online (BSOL) contains all current, historic, and draft British Standards. It also contains international and European standards adopted as British Standards, technical handbooks, codes of practice, product specifications, technical glossaries, BSI Publicly Available Specifications, and BSI books. Our subscription also includes access to unadopted ISOs. Search by standard number, status, date, ISBN, and more. Browse material by BSOL module or International Classification of Standards code. If you wish to use the alerts facility then please contact libraries@kls.ukhsa.gov.uk and we can set up a BSOL login for you. User guide You must have the FileOpen plugin installed on your laptop to download PDF documents from BSOL. Use the IT self-service software catalogue to request the FileOpen plugin is available. You can then install it on your laptop from the software centre. You must use Adobe Reader to open downloaded PDFs. |
| Campbell Collaboration (Open Access) | Campbell Collaboration promotes evidence-based decision making in social and economic areas via systematic reviews, evidence and gap maps, and other evidence synthesis. Topics include: • Business and Management • Crime and Justice • Disability • Education • International Development (including Nutrition) • Knowledge Translation and Implementation • Methods • Social Welfare Search the full archive of Campbell Systematic Reviews, from 2005-present. |
| CINAHL Complete (Available via EBSCO platform) | Summaries and full-text articles from nursing and allied health journals, from 1937-present. Subjects covered include 50+ nursing specialities, speech and language pathology, radiology, creative therapies, nutrition, medicine and more. Includes summaries for 5000+ journals and full-text for 1300+ journals. EBSCO platform user guide |
| Cochrane Library (Open Access) | Cochrane Library is a collection of databases supporting evidence-based medicine, including: • Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, a leading source of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. • Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, containing citations and summaries of randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials. • Cochrane Clinical Answers, containing clinically-focused summaries of Cochrane reviews to inform point-of-care decisions. • Cochrane special collections on selected topics. |
| EconLit (Available via EBSCO platform) | Database of economic literature from the American Economic Association. Covers key fields including health, welfare, public economics, country studies, economic forecasting, econometrics, government regulations, urban and regional economics, and more. Search across 1.2 million indexed records from 1886-present, including journal articles, books, collective volume articles, working papers, dissertations, and book reviews. EBSCO platform user guide |
| Embase (Available via OVID platform) | Database containing over 20 million records from 6,100+ international peer-reviewed journals, from 1974-present. It covers a large range of core topics from allergies to virology and is especially strong in coverage of pharmacology and toxicology. OVID platform reference guide |
| Emcare (Available via OVID platform) | Database which indexes over 3,500 nursing and allied health journals published worldwide, from 1995-present. Specialist nursing disciplines covered include addictions, HIV/AIDS, intensive care, neonatal, psychiatric, paediatric, palliative and more. OVID platform user guide |
| ERIC (Available via EBSCO platform) | Education Resource Information Centre (ERIC) is a database of education literature sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. Contains 1.6 million records covering journal articles, books, conference papers, curriculum guides, dissertations and policy papers from 1966-present, including 750,000 full-text documents. Search filters can limit results by education level or intended audience. EBSCO platform user guide |
| ETHoS (Open Access) | Not currently available following the British Library cybersecurity incident. ETHoS is a British Library database which aims to record all doctoral theses awarded by UK higher education institutions. Currently contains over 500,000 records from around 1800-present, more than half of which include links to free full-text copies. ETHoS user guide |
| European Newsstream (Available via Proquest platform) | This contains full-text Newspapers including Daily Telegraph, The Times and a number of UK local/regional papers. The Financial Times is also available with a 30-day embargo. |
| Food Science Technology Abstracts (Available via OVID platform) | Food Science Technology Abstracts (FSTA) is a key source of information on the food and beverage sector and human nutrition. Gathers global content from over 1800 journals as well as books, reports, theses and conference proceedings from 1969-present. Topics include food science, food technology, human nutrition, biotechnology, toxicology, and packaging. Each summary includes key points, conclusions, and is indexed to aid searching. Video tutorials available here OVID platform reference guide |
| GIDEON: Global Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology Online Network (Available via OVID platform) | GIDEON : Global Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology Online Network. GIDEON, a unique resource dedicated to the detection, prevention, and education of infectious diseases, is ideal for anyone working in this critical, fast-paced field, including: clinicians, educators, policymakers, drug makers, and researchers. This multimedia resource features up-to-date information and visual tools for diagnosing diseases and following the latest trends in epidemiology and treatment. |
| Global Health (Available via Ovid platform) | Global Health is a database of public health resources. It contains over 1.2 million records from 1973-present, from over 7,300 journals, books, theses, reports, grey literature, and conference proceedings. It includes translations of many non-English language papers. Topics include epidemiology, non-communicable diseases, life sciences, nutrition, hygiene, food safety, and more. |
| Global Health Archive (Available via OVID platform) | Global Health Archive is a database of records from 6 out-of-print journals published from 1910-1983, all updated with current terminology to aid retrieval. Access a wealth of data on past epidemics and pandemics such as duration, transmission, geographic distribution, epidemiological peaks, government preparedness, quarantine, symptoms, mortality, and effects on different demographic groups. OVID platform user guide |
| Global Index Medicus (Open Access) | The Global Index Medicus (GIM) provides worldwide access to biomedical and public health literature produced by and within low-middle income countries. The main objective is to increase the visibility and usability of this important set of resources. The material is collated and aggregated by WHO Regional Office Libraries on a central search platform allowing retrieval of bibliographical and full text information. |
| GreenFILE (Available via EBSCO platform) | GreenFILE is a free research database covering all aspects of human impact to the environment. Its collection of scholarly, government and general-interest titles includes content on global warming, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more. |
| Health Business Elite (Available via EBSCO platform) | A comprehensive collection of journals covering healthcare administration and other non-clinical aspects of healthcare management. Updated daily, it includes 570 full-text journals from 1922-present, covering subjects such as hospital administration and management, marketing, human resources, computer technology, facilities management and insurance. EBSCO platform user guide |
| HMIC: Health Management Information Consortium (Available via OVID platform) | Resource for health care administrators and managers. Brings together records of The Department of Health library database (1983-present) and the King’s Fund library database (1979-present). Topics include health service policy, quality of services, construction and maintenance of healthcare buildings, and regulation of medicines. OVID platform reference guide |
| Health Research Premium Collection Accessible by NHS OpenAthens account holders and UKHSA staff (Available via Proquest platform) | Over 4,500 full text health and medical journals (1946 - current), grey literature, instructional videos, and more. Includes many clinical, biomedical, nursing, allied health, psychology, and public health titles. Many specialist medical disciplines such as cardiovascular diseases, neurology, and parasitology are also covered. Proquest platform user guide |
| Medline (Available via OVID platform) | Database of life sciences and biomedical abstracts from the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Currently contains over 26 million records from 1946-present, drawn from 5200+ worldwide journals as well as selected newspapers, magazines and newsletters. Topics include life sciences, behavioural sciences, bioengineering, chemistry and much more. OVID platform reference guide |
| PTSDpubs (formerly called PILOTS) Accessible by NHS OpenAthens account holders and UKHSA staff (Available via Proquest platform) | Specialist database of global citations on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health sequelae of traumatic events. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, it covers aspects such as pathology, assessment, treatment, prevention, public policy, and traumatised populations from 1871-present. Proquest platform user guides |
| PsycArticles Accessible by NHS OpenAthens account holders and UKHSA staff (Available via Proquest platform) | PsycArticles is a database of full-text articles from over 110 journals published by the American Psychological Association, the Canadian Psychological Association, and other carefully selected publishers. Examples of key titles include American Psychologist, Behavioural Neuroscience, and The Journal of Abnormal Psychology. Proquest platform user guides |
| PsycINFO (Available via OVID platform) | Comprehensive database of peer-reviewed literature in behavioural science and mental health produced by the American Psychological Association. Updated weekly, it indexes over 2,200 worldwide journals from circa 1800-present as well as dissertations, books and book chapters. Entries are indexed using a specialist thesaurus to aid discovery. OVID platform reference guide |
| Sage Research Methods | Sage Research Methods is a specialist collection for researchers containing 1000+ key books on research methods, ethics, and specific quantitative and qualitative methods. It also includes journal articles, a dictionary, case studies, video tutorials, a project planner tool, and practice datasets. Browse the collection by academic disciplines including medicine, nursing, psychology, and public health. SAGE reference guide |
| Scopus | Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature from across the sciences, medicine, technology, social sciences, arts and humanities. Search across 18.8 million records drawn globally from scientific journals, books and conference proceedings published from 1970-present. Smart tools allow you to track, analyse and visualise research. SCOPUS reference guide |
| Social Policy and Practice (Available via OVID platform) | Social Policy and Practice brings together information from six of the UK’s leading collections of social policy and practice resources Provides unparalleled access to key information from books and journals as well as reports from local and national government, public agencies, charities, professional bodies and think-tanks from 1981-present. OVID platform reference guide |
| SocINDEX (Available via EBSCO platform) | SocINDEX is a comprehensive database of sociology research abstracts. Covers many topics relevant to public health such as demography, ethnicity, sex, social development, social psychology, social work and substance abuse. Over 2.1 million abstracts are drawn from core journals from 1985-present, books, and conference papers, including many in full text. EBSCO platform user guide |
| Trip Pro Accessible by NHS OpenAthens account holders and UKHSA staff | Trip Pro is a clinical search engine designed for finding high-quality research evidence to support practice and care. Results can be filtered by evidence type, from systematic reviews to case studies and informal sources such as blogs, or by clinical area. The Pro account also includes access to medical images, videos, and links to many full-text articles. User help and guidance |
| UpToDate | UpToDate is an Evidence-Based Clinical Decision Support System providing current and comprehensive evidence on a range of infections. A limited number of UpToDate subscriptions are available for UKHSA staff. If you would like to access this, please contact libraries@kls.ukhsa.gov.uk. |
| Web of Science | Web of Science is a platform consisting of several literature search databases designed to support scientific and scholarly research. There are databases with a subject focus like Medline, BIOSIS Citation Index, and Zoological Record; databases with a document type focus like Derwent Innovations Index (patents) and Data Citation Index (datasets and data studies); and databases highlighting content from regions around the world. Web of Science guide |
Use the links in the table below to navigate to the database platforms.
| Platform | Description |
|---|---|
| EBSCOhost | Access to CINAHL, EconLit, ERIC, GreenFILE, Health Business Elite, Medline, Psychology & Behavioural Sciences Collection, and SocIndex. |
| Ovid | Access to Embase, Emcare, Food Science & Technology Abstracts, GIDEON, Global Health, HMIC, Medline, PsycINFO, and Social Policy and Practice. Also provides access to ebooks and ejournals. |
| ProQuest | Access to British Nursing Index, European Newsstream (Newspapers), Health Research Premium Collection, PTSDpubs and PsycArticles. Also provides access to ebooks via Ebook Central. |
Last Updated on 6th September 2024
