Suggested resources
for use in searching.
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General sources
These resources are suggested for searches requiring more general information:
Search engines
- 2Dsearch
- Bielefield Academic Search Engine (BASE)
- Bing - for video searches
- Carrot2 search engine
Other sources
This online collaboration platform is available to all NHS staff. When you register for a free account you can search for communities of practice to join using the “Find a Workspace” option from the dashboard.
Future Learn - for free online courses, with further courses and certification available with paid subscription.
For Google help, you may find the following useful:
- boolean strings - the full list of advanced Google search options by Irina Shamaeva
- Google search - help
- Google search operators - the complete list of advanced operators by Joshua Hardwick
- Google Scholar - see also Google Scholar search tips and Google Scholar advanced search from the University of Birmingham.
Library Knowledge Services (North) Current Awareness directory.
Medscape: https://www.medscape.com/.
Mental Elf (££)
NHS England: mental health
WayBack Machine (an alternative to the National Archives’ UK Government Web Archive) - see also 7 Wayback Machine Alternatives.
What Do They Know (for Freedom of Information requests).
Social media
These resources are suggested for searches requiring information from social media:
Search filters
For common filters to use when searching databases using provider interfaces, see:
- Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions: Search filters and Technical Supplement to Chapter 4: Searching for and selecting studies
- The InterTASC Information Specialists' Sub-Group (ISSG): Search Filters Resource
- McMaster University Health Information Research Unit (HIRU): Filters
- Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN): Filters
Grey literature
Explanatory portals
Alison Bethel et al.: Searching for Grey Literature.
Imperial College: Finding grey literature.
Simon Fraser University: Grey literature: What it is & how to find it.
UK Health Security Agency: Grey Literature: index and alternative sources and resources.
University of Cambridge: Sources of Grey Literature.
University of Leeds: What is grey literature?
Search engines
Canada’s Drug and Health Technology Agency (CADTH}: Grey Matters.
The National Grey Literature Collection.
OpenGrey - note that this database is no longer updated nor searchable online, but is downloadable from this website.
Government organisations' publications
These resources are suggested for searches requiring information from government publications:
- Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)
- eLearning for Healthcare (eLfH)
- HM Government
- National Archives
- NHS Digital
- NHS England contains the NHS Applications platform and integratesintegrating former NHS Improvement
- NHS Scotland publications
- UK Goverment Web Archive
- Welsh Government publications
- Other Trusts’ public websites
Health business and technology
These resources are suggetsed for searches requiring information about health business and technology:
- Academic Health Science Networks (AHSN): Atlas
- The Academy of Fabulous NHS Stuff
- Analysis and Policy Observatory covers Australia, New Zealand and beyond
- Business Source Corporate database (££)
- Care Quality Commission (CQC)
- Chartered Institute for Professional Development's (CIPD) Evidence-based practice for effective decision-making focuses on human resources (HR).
- Digital Health (formerly Digital Health Intelligence)
- FutureNHS
FutureNHS is an online collaboration platform for all NHS staff. When you register for a free account, you can search for health technology and business-related communities of practice to join, using the “Find a Workspace” option from the dashboard.
- Getting it Right First Time (GIRFT)
- Health Business Elite database (HBE ) (££)
- Health Management Information Consortium (HMIC) database
- International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment (INAHTA)
- The King's Fund
- National Cost Collection – aggregates costs of services to NHS England and includes the National Schedule of NHS Costs
- National Health Executive
- National Institute of Health Research (NIHR)
- NIHR Health Technology Assessment (HTA)
- NHS England: Digital transformation
- NHS England: Transformation Directorate (formerly NHSX)
- NHS England: Heath Buildings guidance Health Building Notes (HTN)
- NHS England: Health Technical Memoranda (HTM)
- NHS England: National tariff payment system documents, annexes and supporting documents
- NHS Providers
- NICE Technology Appraisal Guidance
- The Nuffield Trust
- Office of Health Economics
- Personal Social Services Research Unit's (PSSRU) Unit Costs of Health and Social Care programme (2022 – 2027 including the Unit Costs of Health and Social Care 2022 Manual
- Specific device manufacturer and product websites, including this non-exhaustive A-Z directory of medical device manufacturers
Health equity and health inequalities
These resources are suggested for searches requiring information about health inequalities:
- British Library: Social Welfare portal
- British Medical Association: Reducing health inequalities in your local area: a toolkit for clinicians
- Cochrane's Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC) resources include databases, search filters and priority topics for reviews.
- Trip Database’s LMIC filter
- The FAIR Database (Beta) is a database of inequalities public health research
- FutureNHS: Equality and Health Inequalities Network workspace
- FutureNHS is available to all NHS staff after free registration on the FutureNHS platform, and searching for the workspace by title. Other relevant workspaces can be found by searching for “inequalities”.
- The King’s Fund: Health inequalities and “What are health inequalities?
- The National Grey Literature Collection: Health Inequalities' tagged results:
- NHS England: Equality Hub
- NHS England: Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Dashboard
- NHS England: Digital playbooks
- NHS Race and Health Observatory
- NHS Scotland: Primary Care Health Inequalities Short-Life Working Group Report
- The Nuffield Trust
- Office for Health Inequalities and Disparities- contains Fingertips - public health profiles
- The Patient Experience Library – see the “ethnic minorities” and "LGTBQ" topic filters, the "Healthwatch" reports filter and their Patient experience: mapping the Evidence report
- The Royal College of General Practitioners: Health Inequalities
- The Runnymede Trust
Sustainability in healthcare
These resources are suggested for searches requiring information about sustainability:
- The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare (CSH) for their Sustainability in Quality Improvement (SusQI) framework, and Triple bottom line analysis
- eLearning for Healthcare: Environmentally sustainable healthcare - free online learning course for all NHS staff on creation of an account.
- FutureNHS: Sustainability in NHS Knowledge and Library Services and Greener NHS Knowledge Hub workspaces
Both workspaces available to all NHS staff after free registration on the FutureNHS platform, and searching for the workspace by title. Other relevant workspaces can be found by searching for “sustainability”.
- The Greener Anaesthesia and Sustainability Project (GASP)
- The Greener NHS Programme
- Greener Practice
- Healthcare without Harm
- Pharmacy Declares
- Planetary Health Alliance
- Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health: Climate change - resources for child health professionals
- Sustainability updates from NHS KLS colleagues:
- Lucy Gilham’s (Hampshire Healthcare Library Services) Sustainability in Healthcare updates: contact [email protected] to subscribe and for back-issues.
Wellbeing
These resources are suggested for searches requiring information about wellbeing:
- Barts Health Knowledge and Library Service: Inclusion and Diversity evidence updates
- NHS England: NHS workforce race quality standard
- NHS England: Workforce equality and inclusion
- NHS Confederation
- NHS Elect (requires organisational membership)
- NHS Employers
- NHS Leadership Academy
- NHS Providers
- Wellbeing updates from NHS knowledge and library services colleagues:
- Making People Count updates - contact [email protected] to subscribe and for back-issues.
- Barts Health Knowledge and Library Service: Staff wellbeing evidence updates
Local resources
These resources are suggested for searches requiring information available locally:
Evidence search tracking systems
- Clinical Information Search System (CISS) (££) - contact Pip Dival at [email protected] for more information.
- KnowledgeShare (££): - contact Ben Skinner at [email protected] for more information.
Trust resources
- Library catalogue
- Local library discovery tool
- Local QI network
- Local wellbeing hub or resources
- Trust intranet
- Trust website