Evidence-based Medicine to Evidence-based Public Health

Depending on the type of question, there are several tools that will address answer your question.  Bibliographic databases, data sets, government organizations' sites, and so much more.

1.  Before beginning your search, think about how much literature you expect to find on the topic.  This will help as you construct your search, and prompt you to reach out to a librarian.

• Finding too little information? This is known as a gap in the literature. 
• Finding too much and you do not want to revise your question?  Think about limiting your search by filters that are important.  Current five years, may not be the best limit.  Think about age groups, or specific populations. 
  • If there are several systematic reviews related to your PICO question, consider conducting an umbrella review on the quality of the reviews.
  • Consider if the systematic reviews are of high quality, can implementation research outcomes (acceptability, adoption, appropriateness, cost, feasibility, fidelity, penetration, and/or sustainability)  be replicated when making Public Health decisions. 

Pre-Digested Evidence-Based Sources (see Health Measurements & Indicators tab)

Scholarly Bibliographic Databases:  it is important to consider the Public Health domain to determine the most appropriate databases

Grey Literature and Other Resources

• NYAM Grey Literature Database, make sure to scroll down and click on the "Grey Literature" tab
• OAISter, an online catalog of more than 50 million records