Library Search lets you search all library resources, including books, e-books, journals, journal articles and more, in one quick and easy search. You can access Library Search from links on the portal or from the Library Services web page. Many of the resources available via Library Search are not freely available on the web so if you search for information using only Google you will miss lots of quality resources. Make sure you search Library Search and Google Scholar for your assignment topics.

Use Library Search to find printed books and e-books. Additionally, try browsing the core public health and health promotion book collection by looking at the shelves for classmarks 362.1 and 613.

In addition to our academic textbooks, you may wish to explore the Experts by Experience (EbE) and the Professional Reflection collection of e-books and e-audiobooks. The Experts by Experience collection includes texts written by patients/clients/carers which shed light on their illness/condition/situation from their own perspective. The Professional Reflection collection includes texts by healthcare professions which reflect on life in the sector. Visit the Learning Skills Hub module on EbE to explore the collection further and see how to access the texts on the Libby app.

Journals provide an important source of information in addition to books as they publish articles on specific topics and often present and discuss results of research or case-studies. Depending on availability, you can access printed journals in the library (in Augustine House they are located on the second floor in the silent zone) and electronic versions via LibrarySearch.

You may see journal articles on your reading list – below is an example of a reference to a journal article:

Randall, J. and Sheffield, D. (2012) “Just a personal thing? A qualitative account of health behaviours and values associated with body piercing”, Perspectives in Public Health , 133 (2), pp.110-115.

The above example shows that the article “Just a personal thing? A qualitative account of health behaviours and values associated with body piercing” was published in the Perspectives in Public Health . This is one of the journal titles that will be useful for you, others available via LibrarySearch include:

• BMC Public Health
• Health Education Journal
• Health Promotion International

To make sure you are a carrying out a thorough search for your topic you should also try any/all of the following key, specialised databases. To access them use the Find Databases link on the LibrarySearch home page, find them in the A-Z list and click on the link.

ASSIA – Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstract. Subject coverage: health and social sciences. See the guide for more information

CINAHL Complete – CINAHL stands for Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature. The database contains references from more than 2,900 nursing and allied health journals. It provides full text for more than 600 journals. See the guide for more information.

SCOPUS - Scopus is the largest abstract and citation database containing both peer-reviewed research literature and quality web sources. With over 22,000 titles from more than 5,000 international publishers, Scopus offers researchers a quick, easy and comprehensive resource to support their research needs in the fields of science, technology, medicine, social sciences, and arts and humanities.

Social Policy and Practice – This database represents an important source of evidence-based social science research. Coverage includes topics such as public health, homelessness and older people. The database comprises over 320,000 bibliographic records such as surveys and statistics.

TRIP Database – a search tool designed to give quick access to high quality clinical information. A simple search for ‘health promotion’ will find a range of items from patient information to primary journal literature. TRIP includes an option to filter the search to material relevant to Low and Middle Income Countries.

Also available in LibrarySearch is LexisLibrary Newspapers UK and the Oxford English Dictionary. View the help guides for key LibrarySearch databases.

Please note you will be able to access the full text of many of the articles you find when searching the databases but will not be able to read the full text of all the results you find.

You could also try databases that are freely available on the web:

Public Health and Health Promotion

Campbell Collaboration – international social science research network that produces high quality, open and policy-relevant evidence syntheses, plain language summaries and policy briefs.

EPPI Centre (Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre) – includes links to a number of databases including Trial Register of Promoting Health Interventions plus the Database of Promoting Health Effectiveness Reviews.

Fingertips Public Health Profiles – presents data on health topics such as Adult’s health and lifestyle, Disease and poor health etc.

Gov.uk – use this site to find publications, consultation, policy, guidance and statistics from the:

Department of Health and Social Care
UK Health Security Agency
Office of Health Improvement and Disparities.

NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination– Systematic reviews.

Office for Health Improvement and Disease - local health data with map charting diseases by area.

PubMed - a comprehensive database of biomedical and life sciences literature. It's an excellent resource for finding articles, studies, and research related to public health topics.

Global Health (including data sources)

WHO Global Health Observatory (GHO): The World Health Organization (WHO) provides a wealth of data on global health issues, including statistics, reports, and indicators. It's a valuable resource for tracking and analyzing global health trends.

CDC Wonder: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers access to a wide range of health-related data, including vital statistics, disease surveillance, and health surveys. 

Global Health Data Exchange (GHDx): The GHDx, managed by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), offers a vast collection of global health data, including epidemiological and population health data.

Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD): Also managed by IHME, the GBD Study provides detailed information on the burden of diseases and injuries at the global, regional, and national levels.

World Bank Data: The World Bank provides access to a wide array of global development data, including health-related data, that can be useful for public health research.

UNICEF Data: UNICEF offers data related to child and maternal health, nutrition, water, sanitation, and more. It's a valuable resource for researchers focusing on child and maternal health issues.

Eurostat: For those interested in European public health, Eurostat provides statistics and data related to health and healthcare in European countries.

The Lancet Global Health: This journal publishes research articles, reviews, and commentaries related to global health issues and can be a good source for up-to-date research in the field.

Statistics at OHID: The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) collects and publishes statistics on public health topics. Adhoc (occasional) publications are also available.

Statistics at UKHSA: This resource provides access to data and information from the UK Health Security Agency. Adhoc (occasional) publications are also available.

For more detailed advice see the LibrarySearch help pages and the finding information modules on the Learning Skills Hub for tips on searching for books; journals; journal articles; media resources and websites.