Some staff and learners need to carry out complex, robust and reproduceable searches including for systematic review and informing research. These advanced searches should be conducted in bibliographic databases such as Medline, Embase and CINAHL.
What bibliographic databases are available?
AMED – allied and complementary medicine including palliative care
BNI – nursing, midwifery and community healthcare
CINAHL – nursing and allied health
Embase – biomedical and pharmaceutical literature
Emcare – nursing and allied health
HMIC – healthcare management
Medline – biomedical, life sciences, allied health and pre-clinical sciences literature
PsycInfo – psychology, behavioural sciences and related disciplines
Social Policy and Practice – health and social care
Where do I find these databases?
EBSCO CINAHL and Medline
ProQuest BNI, Medline and PsychInfo
Wolters Kluwer (Ovid) AMED, Embase, Emcare, HMIC, Medline and Social Policy and Practice
To access these databases, you will need an NHS OpenAthens account.
Register for your free NHS OpenAthens account
Check your eligibility for an NHS OpenAthens account
Where can I find support materials for these databases?
If you’re new to literature searching, or need a refresher, why not take a look at our e-learning programme, How to Search the Literature Effectively? This will help you build confidence to search published literature for articles and evidence.
EBSCO Interface
Ovid Interface
ProQuest Interface
Where can I get more help with advanced searching?
Specialists at your local health library can also do expert searches, provide search skills training, and help you keep up to date via current awareness services. Search the directory to find your nearest health library.