Nursing- Legacy: Databases
Created by Health Science Librarians
About Databases
Databases contain references to journal articles, books, data, consumer websites and pamphlets, and often even the full text of journal articles. If you are looking for peer-reviewed articles for a class assignment, drug information, or other targeted information on a topic, you will want to search one or more of these resources.
The Health Sciences Library website provides a convenient way to access health-related electronic search tools.
The E-Research by Discipline page on the UNC Libraries web site provides access to all of the libraries' databases.
Health Sciences Databases
These databases contain varying levels of evidence. Ranging from expert opinions to systematic reviews and meta analyses, these health sciences databases are the best place to start your search. Most of the information in these databases has been peer-reviewed, but most articles have not been evaluated by experts to determine the strength of the evidence. This is called unfiltered information.
- CINAHL Plus with Full TextCINAHL Plus with Full Text is a collection of more than 770 full text nursing & allied health journals dating as far back as 1937, with bibliographic indexing for more than 5,000 additional nursing and related journals. Also included are select health care books, nursing dissertations, conference proceedings, standards of practice, educational software, audiovisuals and book chapters.
- PubMedDatabase of biomedical literature from the National Library of Medicine covering journal articles about medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, biology and public health from 1950 to the present; multiple mobile apps available, provides access to MEDLINE, etc. Includes links to full text of UNC-CH's electronic journal subscriptions.
- EmbaseHighly versatile, multipurpose and up-to-date biomedical database covering the most important international biomedical literature from 1947 to the present day. Supports drug discovery & development, pharmacovigilance, medical device development and post-market surveillance, and evidence-based medicine.
- ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health DatabaseThis resource supports nursing and allied health professional education and practice with full-text journals, dissertations, e-books, practice guidelines, study resources, and an assortment of videos from MedCom.
- Health Source: Nursing/Academic EditionIndexing, abstracts and full-text for hundreds of nursing and allied health journals covering a variety of specialties including pediatric nursing, critical care, mental health, nursing management, medical law and many more.
- PsycInfoDatabase from the American Psychological Association covering the academic research and practice literature in psychology and related disciplines (medicine, education, social work, etc.) from over 60 countries in more than 29 languages. It provides indexes to journals, dissertations, book chapters, books, technical reports, and other documents from 1887 to the present.
Evidence-Based Practice Databases
These resources will generally provide higher levels of evidence because experts have collected, analyzed, and reported on the evidence for you. This is called filtered information.
Higher types of evidence include Systematic Reviews, Meta-Analyses, Guidelines, Critically Appraised Topics and more.
- Cochrane LibraryLeading source for full-text systematic reviews in health care. Searches a collection of databases that includes the CDSR, CENTRAL, Clinical Answers, and selected reviews from Epistemonikos. RCTs are from Medline, Embase, ClinicalTrials.gov, the WHO ICTRP, CINAHL (since 2020) and more. Click on "Search Limits" or the Browse tab to select content from a specific database.
- JAMAevidenceProvides tools for students and clinicians to evaluate and interpret medical literature and better understand the principles of Evidence Based Practice/Medicine, including the books Users' Guides to Medical Literature, The Rational Clinical Examination , etc.
- UpToDateClinical resource specifically designed to answer the clinical questions that arise in daily practice and to do so quickly and easily so that it can be used right at the point of care for a broad range of hospital and medical specialties. Access: Available in EPIC or onsite at UNC Health Chapel Hill & Hillsborough locations when on Skynet.
Additionally, many evidence-based practice groups publish their findings online:
- CDC's Community GuideSystematic Reviews for Community Health and Preventative Services
- American Psychiatric AssociationRecommendations Assessment and Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders
- Campbell Collaboration Library of Systematic ReviewsSystematic Reviews in Education, Crime and Justice, and Social Welfare
- U.S. Preventative Services Task ForceRecommendation Statements
Other Useful Databases
These databases are not focused on nursing, but they may also be useful depending on your topic. This information will also be unfiltered because it has not been appraised by experts.
You can search for an article title in these databases to see a list of all the articles that cite your article.
A to Z Databases
- browse by title
- browse by subject
- search by database name
Find @ UNC
Click on the 
button in database results to:
- Go directly to most online articles
- Export article citations to Endnote or to formats for other reference managers
- Search the UNC-CH Library Catalog to find the print journal
- Send an Interlibrary Loan (ILL) request if the journal is not owned by UNC-CH
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