While government databases are available free on the Internet, others are offered by vendors for a fee. Many of these fee-based databases include access to full-text publications - providing a valuable service to a library with limited space and limited collections, and providing one-stop shopping to information resources.

Because of the evolving nature of these products, direct contact with the vendor will help to provide current information about their related products for general health.

 

Free Databases

PubMed. National Library of Medicine.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/

A free database from the National Library of Medicine, PubMed indexes the medical, veterinary, allied health and health care literature. PubMed contains citations to approximately 16 million journal articles from 1950 - present. This database has abstracts for the majority of its citations and 80% are from English language journals.

AARP AgeLine
http://www.aarp.org/research/ageline/

A database produced by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Information Services, AgeLine provides bibliographic references and original abstracts for materials related to aging and middle age from an interdisciplinary perspective of psychology, economics, sociology, gerontology, public policy, business, health & health care services, and consumer issues. Document types include: journal articles, books, book chapters, reports, and government documents.

International Bibliographic Information on Dietary Supplements (IBIDS)
http://dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov/Health_Information/IBIDS.aspx

The IBIDS database provides access to bibliographic citations and abstracts from published, international, and scientific literature on dietary supplements. Users can choose to search the Full IBIDS Database, a subset of Consumer Citations Only or Peer Reviewed Citations Only.

NLM Gateway
http://gateway.nlm.nih.gov/

NLM Gateway is a web-based system that lets users search simultaneously in multiple retrieval systems at the National Library of Medicine, including PubMed and MedlinePlus. It allows users of NLM services to initiate searches from one web interface, providing "one-stop searching" for many of NLM's information resources or databases.

 

Fee Based Databases and CD-ROMS

Alt-HealthWatch
Ebsco Publishing
10 Estes Street
Ipswich, MA 01838
Phone: 800-653-2726
http://www.epnet.com/thisMarket.php?marketID=15

A full text database of periodicals, peer-reviewed journals, academic and professional publications, magazines, consumer newsletters and newspapers, research reports, and association newsletters focused on complementary, alternative and integrated approaches to health care and wellness. Updated quarterly.

CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health)
CINAHL Information Systems
1509 Wilson Terrace
Glendale, CA 91206
Phone: 800-959-7167
http://www.cinahl.com/

The CINAHL database indexes articles on nursing, allied health, biomedical and consumer health literature. A variety of health materials from books, dissertations and pamphlets are also included.

Consumer Health Complete
Ebsco Publishing
10 Estes St.
P.O. Box 682
Ipswich, MA 01938-0682
Phone: 800-653-2726
http://www.epnet.com/titleLists.php?topicID=380&tabForward=titleLists&marketID=14

Consumer Health Complete (CHC) is designed to support patients' information needs and foster an overall understanding of health-related topics. CHC provides content covering all areas of health and wellness from mainstream medicine to the many perspectives of complementary, holistic and integrated medicine. This full text database covers topics such as aging, cancer, diabetes, drugs & alcohol, fitness, nutrition & dietetics, children's health, men & women's health, etc.

Health Source: Consumer Edition
Ebsco Publishing
10 Estes Street
Ipswich, MA 01838
Phone: 800-653-2726
http://www.epnet.com/thisMarket.php?marketID=15

Health Source Consumer Edition offers consumer level information on health-related questions. With this database, you can find a remedy for sunburn, discover healthy nutritional guidelines, search for the latest treatments for cancer, etc.

Health Reference Center - Academic
Thomson Gale
27500 Drake Rd.
Farmington Hills, MI 48331-3535
Phone: 800-347-4253
http://www.gale.com/title_lists/

Health Reference Center indexes information from a variety of health newsletters, consumer and medical periodicals, books and pamphlets. This database offers a wide variety of full text information for the consumer.

Health and Wellness Resource Center
Thomson Gale
27500 Drake Rd.
Farmington Hills, MI 48331-3535
Phone: 800-347-4253
http://www.gale.com/title_lists/

The Health & Wellness Resource Center is a comprehensive resource that provides integrated access to medical, health and wellness information. It provides up-to-date reference material as well as full text magazines, journals and pamphlets from a wide variety of authoritative medical sources. This resource provides access to a medical dictionary, a drug & herb finder, the latest health news, and alternative medicine information.

Student Resource Center Health Module
Thomson Gale
27500 Drake Rd.
Farmington Hills, MI 48331-3535
Phone: 800-347-4253
http://www.gale.com/title_lists/

Targeted for middle school students, the Student Resource Center Health Module provides periodical articles allowing users to view health information in the proper context.

Clinical Pharmacology
Gold Standard
302 Knights Run Ave, Suite 800
Tampa, FL 33602
Toll Free: 800-375-0943
http://www.clinicalpharmacology.com/

Clinical Pharmacology contains current, concise and clinically-relevant drug monographs for all U.S. prescription drugs, hard-to-find herbal and nutritional supplements, over-the-counter products and new and investigational drugs. Drugs may be searched by their generic or brand names. Patient Education records are available in English or Spanish.

Health Illustrated Encyclopedia
A.D.A.M., Inc.
1600 RiverEdge Parkway, Suite 100
Atlanta, GA 30328
Phone: 770-980-0888
http://www.adam.com/Our_Products/Business_and_Healthcare/Consumer_Reference/index.html

A.D.A.M.'s Health Illustrated Encyclopedia is a comprehensive, continuously updated knowledge base that includes diseases and conditions, symptoms, tests, surgeries, and more. This product is written for the general consumer with an average level of health literacy. The Health Illustrated Encyclopedia describes over 1,600 diseases and conditions with over 3,600 articles.

In-Depth Reports
A.D.A.M., Inc.
1600 RiverEdge Parkway, Suite 100
Atlanta, GA 30328
Phone: 770-980-0888
http://www.adam.com/Our_Products/Business_and_Healthcare/Consumer_Reference/index.html

In-Depth Reports provide extensive information on top chronic diseases and wellness issues. Each report is a discussion of the latest information on treatments, risk factors, causes, diagnostic tests, and preventative measures. These reports are for individuals possessing a higher level of health literacy and for those seeking a deeper understanding of their condition.

Surgeries and Procedures
A.D.A.M., Inc.
1600 RiverEdge Parkway, Suite 100
Atlanta, GA 30328
Phone: 770-980-0888
http://www.adam.com/Our_Products/Business_and_Healthcare/Consumer_Reference/index.html

Surgeries and Procedures is a series of 151 fully illustrated, interactive health presentations that depict common surgeries, tests, and procedures with over 600 full-color medical images, labels, and descriptive text. Each presentation is an easy-to-understand, step-by-step explanation that effectively reaches a broad audience including those with low health literacy.

Drug Information Center
A.D.A.M., Inc.
1600 RiverEdge Parkway, Suite 100
Atlanta, GA 30328
Phone: 770-980-0888
http://www.adam.com/Our_Products/Business_and_Healthcare/Consumer_Reference/index.html

The patient education leaflets contained in this database provide accurate information about generic and brand name medications. The leaflets include instructions on how to take medications, what to avoid while taking medications, what the side effects and drug interactions are, and many more important sections. They are written in a consumer-friendly, 6th-8th grade reading level, and include graphical icons to illustrate important hazards.