Subject Guide: Public Health

Finding Books

Reference Sources

Journals and Magazines

Electronic Databases

Web Links

• Professional Organizations
• Minority Health
• Health Statistics
• Health Literacy
• General Health Information

Finding Books [ Top ]

Shepard Library’s collection contains many books on public health that are available for patrons to borrow. To search for these materials, go to the NCCU Catalog. Detailed instructions in how to search effectively can be found at How to Search the Catalog or at this Online Catalog Tutorial.

It is also possible to search across all the book collections of Duke University, North Carolina Central University, North Carolina State University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill by using Search TRLN (Triangle Research Libraries Network).

Selected Reference Sources [ Top ]

Listed below are selected books about public health located in Shepard Library’s Reference Department. The book’s call number follows each entry.

Dictionary of Public Health. Oxford University Press, c2007

REF RA423 .L37 2007

Dictionary of Public Health Promotion and Education. Jossey Bass, c2004

REF RA440.5 .M634 2004

Encyclopedia & Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health. Saunders, c2003

REF R121 .M65 2003

Encyclopedia of Autoimmune Diseases. Facts on File, c2003

REF RC600 .C37 2003

Encyclopedia of Cancer. Facts on File, c2005

REF RC262 .T86 2005

Encyclopedia of Disability. Sage Publications, c2006

REF HV1568 .E528 2006

Encyclopedia of Global Health. Sage Publications, c2008

REF RA441 .E53 2008

Encyclopedia of Health & Aging. Sage Publications, c2007

REF RA777.6 .E534 2007

Encyclopedia of HIV and AIDS. Facts on File, c2003

REF RC606.6 .W385 2003

Encyclopedia of Infectious Diseases. Facts on File 2003

REF RC112 .T87 2003

Encyclopedia of Men's Health. Facts on File, c2005

REF RA777.8 .R68 2005

Encyclopedia of Public Health. Macmillan, c2002

REF RA423 .E53 2002

Encyclopedia of Senior Health and Well-being. Facts on File, c2003

REF RA777.6 .K357 2003

Encyclopedia of Stress. Academic Press, c2007

REF QP82.2 .S8 E53 2007

Encyclopedia of Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Facts on File, c2004

REF RC200.1 .S525 2004

Encyclopedia of Work-related Illnesses, Injuries, and Health Issues. Facts on File, c2004

REF RC963 .A3 K348 2004

Gale Encyclopedia of Mental Health. Thompson Gale, c2008

REF RC437 .G36 2008

Global Epidemics. H.W. Wilson, c2007

REF RA649 .G56 2007

Handbook of Immigrant Health. Plenum Press, c1998

REF RA448.5.I44 H36 1998

Health , United States , 2001: with Urban and Rural Health Chartbook. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, c2001

REF RA445 .N38 2001

International Encyclopedia of Public Health. Elsevier, c2008

REF RA423 .I68 2008

Measuring Progress in Healthy People 2010 (Electronic resource)

Mental Health in America: a Reference Handbook. ABC-CLIO, c2007

REF RA790.6 .K4644 2007

New A to Z of Women's Health: a Concise Encyclopedia. Facts on File, c1995

REF RA778 .A494 1995

North Carolina health careers 2008-2010. North Carolina AHEC Program, c1990-

REF R690 .N67

Praeger Handbook of Black American Health: Policies and Issues behind Disparities in Health. Praeger, c2004

REF RA448.5 .N4 H364 2004

Resumes for the Health Care Professional. Wiley, c1993

REF R690 .M333 1993

Selected Journals and Magazines [ Top ]

Listed below are some of the public health journals to which Shepard Library subscribes. An asterisk in the Full Text column indicates those titles for which some full text is available using Journal Finder. Additional electronic journal titles can be accessed through Journal Finder’s Public Health Subject list.

Electronic Databases [ Top ]

Shepard Library licenses a number of databases that provide access to journals articles in various areas of health.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) via NC LIVE

Coverage: Information regarding health promotion and disease prevention

CINHAL w/Full Text via EBSCOhost
Coverage: Indexing for 2,717 journals and full text for 320 journals. PDF backfiles to 1982 are also included. Covers nursing, biomedicine, health sciences librarianship, alternative/ complementary medicine, consumer health and 17 allied health disciplines. Offers access to health care books, nursing dissertations, selected conference proceedings, standards of practice, educational software, audiovisuals and book chapters.

CQ Researcher Online via CQ Press
Coverage:  The CQ Researcher provides original, comprehensive reporting and analysis on issues shaping our world. Each 12,000-word report is a unique work, investigated and written by a seasoned journalist. Published 44 times a year, CQ Researcher reports offer in-depth, non-biased coverage of political and social issues, with regular reports on topics in health, international affairs, education, the environment, technology, and the U.S. economy.

GPO Access via US Government Publications Office
Coverage: GPO Access is a service of the U.S. Government Printing Office that provides free electronic access to a wealth of important information products produced by the Federal Government. The information provided on this site is the official, published version and the information retrieved from GPO Access can be used without restriction, unless specifically noted.

Health Source: Consumer Edition via EBSCOhost
Coverage: Provides consumer oriented information on many health topics including the medical sciences, food sciences and nutrition, childcare, sports medicine, and general health. Includes searchable full text for over 150 consumer health journals, abstracts and indexing for nearly 175 general health, nutrition and professional health care publications.

Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition via EBSCOhost
Coverage: Provides more than 400 scholarly full text journals focusing on many medical disciplines. Also featured are abstracts and indexing for over 500 journals.

  Healthfinder via NC LIVE

Coverage: A gateway consumer health information web site whose goal is "to improve consumer access to selected health information from government agencies, their many partner organizations, and other reliable sources that serve the public interest."

  HIV InSite via NC LIVE

Coverage: A project of the University of California, San Francisco AIDS Research Institute.

Designed as a gateway to in-depth information about particular aspects of HIV/AIDS, it provides

numerous links to many authoritative sites.

  Lab Tests Online via NC LIVE

  Mayo Clinic Health Oasis via NC LIVE

 Coverage: An excellent consumer source of information. Editors of the site include over 1,200

 physicians, scientists, writers and educators at the Mayo Clinic, a non-profit institution with  

 more than 100 years of history in patient care, medical research and education.

MEDLINEplus via National Library of Medicine

MedlinePlus Drugs & Supplements via National Library of Medicine

Merck Manual Home Edition via NC LIVE

  National Cancer Institute via NC LIVE

  National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine via NC LIVE

  National Institute of Mental Health via NC LIVE

Coverage: Symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of various mental illnesses. Included are brochures and information sheets, reports, press releases, and fact sheets.

  National Women's Health Information Center (NWHIC) via NC LIVE

Coverage: A population specialty site for women. It is a relatively new gateway site of health information for consumers, health care professionals, researchers, and educators and is sponsored by the U.S. Public Health Service's Office on Women's Health. It provides access to a variety of women's federal resources in addition to those in the private sector.

NC Health Info via NC LIVE

Coverage: NC Health Info allows people to search for web sites of local health services across the state of North Carolina. Covering topics from Alzheimer's Disease to yoga, NC Health Info

serves to connect people to health services (health care providers, support groups, wellness programs, etc.) in their local community. Through integrated links with MedlinePlus, a

comprehensive consumer health web site from the National Library of Medicine, users can

also access quality, up to date information on over 600 health conditions and diseases as

well as wellness topics, drug information, and more.

North Carolina Public Health via NC LIVE

Coverage: Provides a site covering a wide range of programs and services, all aimed toward

protecting and improving the health of the people who live and work in North Carolina. Includes

information such as fish consumption advisories, ozone levels, pfisteria health precautions,

links to local health departments, how to get birth certificates, etc.

PsychINFO (Psychology) via EBSCOhost
Coverage: Indexes and abstracts over 1300 journals in psychology and related disciplines from 1887 to present.

Science Citation Index Expanded via Web of Science
Coverage: A multidisciplinary index to the journal literature of the sciences. It fully indexes 5,900 major journals across 150 scientific disciplines. Provides access to current information and retrospective data from 1945 forward. Some of the disciplines covered include: Agriculture, Neuroscience, Biochemistry, Biology, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics.

State Center for Health Statistics via NC LIVE

Coverage: SCHS is responsible for data collection and research, production of reports, and maintenance of a comprehensive collection of health statistics. They have published a wide

variety of reports in the past and are in the process of adding them to their Web site. Currently included are several compilations of mortality statistics (including one devoted to cancer), the

"North Carolina Pocket Guide" of health statistics, "Vital Facts about Life in North Carolina", and

a start toward providing pregnancy and birth statistics.

Web Links [ Top ]

Listed below are selected Web sites of interest for public health.

Selected Professional Organizations [ Top ]

American Public Health Association

Association of State and Territorial Health Officials

North Carolina Public Health Association

Society for Public Health Education

World Health Organization

Selected Minority Health Sites [ Top ]

All About Black Health

Presents health information relevant to African-Americans and other minorities.

Black Healthcare

A health information guide focused on the special needs of African Americans.

Office of Minority Health (OMH)

Part of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, OMH focuses on eliminating health disparities for racial and ethnic minorities.

Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities (OMHD)

Similar in mission to the OMH site referenced above, OMHD is based within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Selected Health Statistics Sites [ Top ]

FedStats

This site acts as a gateway to statistical information from numerous federal agencies.

Globalhealthfacts.org

This site is a project of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. It provides data by country on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other key health and socio-economic indicators.

National Center for Health Statistics

This agency is the principal source of health statistics for the United States.

North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics

Provides a comprehensive collection of NC health statistics.

Statistical Abstracts of the United States

This Web version of a standard reference work compiles national statistics in many areas, including health information.

Selected Health Literacy Sites [ Top ]

Health Literacy Improvement

Created by the federal Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, this is an excellent collection of resources about health literacy

Health Literacy Style Manual

A 2005 publication of the Covering Kids and Families initiative that provides guidelines for producing improved patient materials.

Just What Did the Doctor Order?

Produced by the North Carolina Institute of Medicine Health Literacy Task Force in 2007, this report focuses on how health care providers can better communicate with individuals.

Teaching Patients with Low Literacy Skills

This book, considered a classic in health literacy, is available to be read and downloaded from this site maintained by the Harvard School of Public Health.

Selected General Health Information [ Top ]

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Federal agency charged with protecting the health and safety of Americans.

CDC Wonder

CDC’s Wonder (Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research) is designed to simplify access to CDC’s public health reports and data systems.

Community Assessment Guide Book

A “how-to” manual for developing effective public health programs in communities.

Contagion: Historical Views of Diseases and Epidemics

Created by Harvard University Library’s Open Collection Program, this site provides information on worldwide diseases and epidemics, organized by significant episodes of major outbreaks.

County Health Data Book

Created by the North Carolina Community Health Assessment Initiative, this site provides extensive data for use in developing community assessments.

Healthcare 411

This site, produced by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, provides very reliable health care news programs in audio, video and text formats.

Health News Review

This site reviews news stories that make therapeutic claims. The journalists and medical professionals behind the site strive to increase accuracy and help consumers evaluate news about health care.

Healthy People

This site describes a comprehensive set of disease prevention and health promotion objectives developed through the collaboration of numerous scientists in both government and non-government organizations.

International Center for Alcohol Policies

This center is a think tank that partners with governments, public health organizations and the alcohol industry. It contains much useful data on subjects such as binge drinking, drinking and driving and youthful drinking.

Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report

Weekly disease and death reports sent by state health departments to the CDC.

National Center for Cultural Competence

Provides information and assistance to health care organizations and professionals in serving diverse populations.

National Center for Environmental Health

This site focuses on prevention of illness or other harmful consequences to people as a result of their contact with the environment.

National Institutes of Health

This organization describes itself as “the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research.” Their Web site offers a wide array of information.

National Library of Medicine

Part of NIH, the world’s largest medical library offers information services for health practitioners, librarians and the general public.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

This division of CDC focuses on the prevention of accidents and illness in the workplace.

Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce

This site helps public health workers find and use information effectively.

Special Populations: Emergency and Disaster Preparedness

An excellent site compiled by the National Library of Medicine with comprehensive links to information about specialized disaster preparedness.

State Public Health

Demographics and other public health data from U.S. states and territories

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration(SAMHSA)

This federal agency focuses on recovery from mental or substance abuse disorders.

Surgeon General’s office

The Surgeon General is the chief health educator for the United States. The site provides excellent reports and resources on national public health priorities.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

This is the principal federal agency for protecting the health of Americans. This agency oversees the work of numerous other federal health organizations, including NIH, CDC and FDA to name a few.

WWW.Health.Gov

This site serves as a portal to health activities being undertaken by various United States government agencies.

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This page was last updated: August 4th, 2009 

Send comments to: Library Liaison for Public Health and Web Liaison