Find medical and health information from reputable web resources, and from books and journal databases at the State Library of Victoria.
Gale Health and Wellness database is providing TEMPORARY free access to all during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. For non registered Victorian members just click on this link.
Gale Health and Wellness is automatically updated with the latest daily content from News Articles, Academic Journals, Reference, Magazines, Videos & Audio and the Coronavirus topic page features a link at the top of the homepage.
In the area of medicine, and science generally, it is of primary interest and importance, to find the latest developments in the field. The key resource for the latest research is in journal literature, especially peer-reviewed journals.
These journals are accessed through electronic databases which allow you to search through hundreds of journals at once to find relevant articles. Most of these databases are only accessible via libraries, which subscribe to them and then provide access to their members. Public and state libraries provide access to any user in the library, and access from home, to some databases, to patrons who become members.
The following are also available from home to registered State Library of Victoria members.
ProQuest Health and Medical Complete
ProQuest Health and Medical Complete™ combines the clinical research titles available in ProQuest Medical Library™ with hundreds of additional consumer and health administration titles. ProQuest Health and Medical Complete provides in-depth coverage from over 1,500 publications with almost 1,300 available in full text and of these, over 900 include MEDLINE® indexing.In addition, the database includes all charts, diagrams, graphs, tables, photos, and other graphical elements essential to medical research.The journals cover all major clinical and healthcare disciplines, including medical sciences, immunology, pharmacy and pharmacology, nursing, physical fitness and hygiene, surgery, and others.
Informit health collection
Especially good for Australian oriented content. This database indexes journals and books on Australian and Pacific health topics.
PMC (Pubmed Central)
This resource is an important exception to the rule about subscription database access to full-text articles; all of its contents are available in full-text. PMC is the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) digital archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature. It currently has over 1100 journals in the database. (It also contains material of historical interest as the digitised material extends back to the early 1800s.)
Evidence-based medicine is the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. David Sackett (1996)
EBM aims to combine the best available research, clinical expertise and patient preferences, values, concerns and expectations.
The evidence-based medicine pyramid (below) is used to illustrate the hierarchy of medical evidence, from the weakest to the strongest. The least powerful information is at the base and the strongest at the tip.
Systematic reviews of medical literature produced by the Cochrane Collaboration, and made available through the Cochrane Library. Systematic reviews are regarded as the "gold-standard" of medical evidence.
"Cochrane Reviews are systematic reviews of primary research in human health care and health policy. They investigate the effects of interventions for prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. They also assess the accuracy of a diagnostic test for a given condition in a specific patient group and setting.
Each systematic review addresses a clearly formulated question; for example: Can antibiotics help in alleviating the symptoms of a sore throat? All the existing primary research on a topic that meets certain criteria is searched for and collated, and then assessed using stringent guidelines, to establish whether or not there is conclusive evidence about a specific treatment. The reviews are updated regularly, ensuring that treatment decisions can be based on the most up-to-date and reliable evidence."
TRIP database (part free full-text and part paid access)
TRIP (Turning research into practice) enables searching of a range of health resources, from patient handouts, to clinical guidelines, journal articles, clinical trials and studies, right through to systematic reviews. It uses the evidence-based pyramid approach (listing weakest to strongest research) when showing results.
Tools to help you assess the quality of health stories in the media:
Health News Review
A US based site which evaluates the quality of health news stories. Not-for-profit site, and no advertising.
NHS Choices: behind the headlines
Aims to provide an unbiased and evidence-based analysis of health stories that make the news
Australia has been a leading player in the area of medical research for many decades, and Melbourne is home to several of the highest profile research bodies. The organisations listed here make available a range of valuable resources related to their areas of research via their websites.
NHMRC - National Health and Medical Research Council
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is Australia's peak body for supporting health and medical research; for developing health advice for the Australian community, health professionals and governments; and for providing advice on ethical behaviour in health care and in the conduct of health and medical research.
This site provides information on: health research in Australia, the grant process, key public health issues, research ethics, guidelines, and some patient/consumer oriented information. Some publications listed on the site are free for download.
Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
Focus on disease research into: infectious diseases; cancer; chronic inflammatory disease. Well known names associated with the WEHI include renowned scientists, Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet and Sir Gustave Nossal. The WEHI site includes several resources, including their WEHI.TV site whch uses 3D video animation to explain key aspects of research.
Burnet Institute
Named in honour of Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet, the institute focuses on research into: infectious diseases – hepatitis, HIV, influenza, malaria and tuberculosis; cancers – breast, ovarian, prostate and blood cancers; and autoimmune diseases: rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
Howard Florey Institute
Research fields include: Parkinson's, Huntington's and motor neuron disease; stroke and epilepsy research; multiple sclerosis; addiction and traumatic brain and spinal cord injury among others. The website includes information on the the brain and its disorders as well as the research being undertaken.
LIBRARY UPDATE
For details of current access arrangements please see our Covid Safe Library page
