Health Education
Overview
This guide directs the user to a sampling of library resources in public health. It is not comprehensive but is meant to help you start your research. For more assistance with research in this area, please contact the subject librarian, Nina Hagiwara, at ninah@sfsu.edu.
Books
Generally, public health books will be found in the RA call number range on the 1st floor. Use InvestiGator, the online catalog, to locate books on a specific topic. To find the resources that are most closely related to your topic, the best strategy is to use subject searching. Subject searching requires that you use the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), which are available in the Indexes & Abstracts Area. Some headings to try are:
As you can see from these examples, it can be helpful to narrow a broad subject heading with geographical or topical subdivisions in various combinations. For example, if you are interested in disease outbreaks in a specific area you could try adding "-- United States" or "-- California" to the subject heading "Epidemics". Subjects of interest may be found under multiple headings, as in the case of "Poverty -- Health Aspects" and "Poor -- Medical Care".
Other ways of searching InvestiGator include title, author, and words searching. Words searching may be especially useful if you do not know the exact LC subject heading for a concept. In words searching you can look for words or phrases that may appear in a book's title, subject headings, notes, and tables of contents. Then, once you find a good source, you can simply click on its subject headings to find similar titles. Examples of words searches may be found here.
The catalog record will indicate where the item is shelved. Some possibilities include the Main Collection (floors 1-4), the Reference Collection (1st floor), or the Government Collection (5th floor).
If the J. Paul Leonard Library does not own a book that you want, or if it is checked out or not available, you have other options for getting the book. First, check the LINK+ system to see if the book can be borrowed from other local academic and public libraries. To search other libraries in the CSU system, use PHAROS. Books ordered through either of these methods may be picked up at the 1st floor Circulation Desk once they arrive.
If you still cannot find a book, or you do not have time for the book to be delivered via LINK+ or PHAROS, you may want to check some of the other regional libraries' catalogs, then visit the libraries in person to retrieve the book.
Periodicals
Periodicals (journals, magazines, and newspapers) provide more current information than is available in books. They also are the first, and often the only, source for full publication of scientific, technical, medical, or social research. To find periodical articles on a specific topic, use the print indexes and abstracts and electronic databases.
Common Journals
Browsing recent issues of professional journals is a way to identify emerging issues in public health research. The following are located in the Current Periodicals (last 2-3 years) or Bound Periodicals areas on the 2nd floor of the library and/or are available online through an SF State subscription. There are many other titles available as well; these are only examples.
American Journal of Public Health
Health Education and Behavior
Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved
Journal of Health Care Management
Journal of Health Education
Journal of Primary Prevention
International Journal of Health Services
Prints Indexes & Abstracts
Indexes are collections of citations organized by topic. They do not include the full text of the articles themselves. Abstracts are similar to indexes, but they also include brief summaries of the articles. Many of the print indexes and abstracts have an equivalent electronic database, though not all do. Therefore, it is important to use both print and electronic resources to find citations. Print sources are found in the Indexes & Abstracts Area on the 1st floor and include:
Hospital Literature Index [1960 - 1994] | Hospital and Health Administration Index [1995 - 1999]
Electronic Databses
Like print indexes and abstracts, electronic databases are used to search for journal, magazine, and newspaper citations on a given topic. The databases may or may not also contain the full-text of the articles themselves.
Because public health is a multidisciplinary field, many databases may be appropriate for research in health education. These may include government, medical, social science, and education databases, among others. It is essential that you think about the various aspects of your topic and choose databases accordingly. The list below has been selected based on their primary subject areas.
Alt-HealthWatch [1991 - Current]
Child Abuse, Child Welfare & Adoption [1965 - Current]
CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature) [1982 - Current]
Contemporary Women's Issues [1992 - Current]
EBM (Evidence Based Medicine) Reviews
Environmental Issues & Policy Index [1973 - Current]
ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) [1966 - Current]
Family & Society Studies Worldwide [1970 - Current]
LexisNexis Congressional [varies]
MEDLINE/PubMed [varies by vendor]
PsycINFO [1887 - Current]
Social Services Abstracts [1980 - Current]
SPORT Discus [1975 - Current]
TOXLINE [1994 - Current]
Also try using some of the general databases such as ArticleFirst, Academic Search Elite, LexisNexis Academic, and ISI Web of Science (specifically SSCI).
Most of the electronic databases are available remotely to SF State students, staff, and faculty. For access, see Accessing Databases from Off-Campus.
To find out if the library has a particular periodical, enter the periodical title (not the article title) as a title search in InvestiGator. If it is owned by the library, check the catalog record to see if it is available in print or electronic form. Print periodicals are found on the 2nd floor in the Periodicals Collection. Periodicals that are available electronically will often have a link to the database in their catalog record. See the handout Access to Periodical Articles in Electronic Format for more information.
If SF State does not have the periodical you need, you may request it through Document Delivery Services . DDS articles can be picked up at the DDS counter on the 1st floor. (You will be notified when they arrive--usually 3 days to 3 weeks.)
Data & Statistics
This is only a small sample of the available sources for health data. Government Organizations' own websites are also a terrific source for statistics--especially when you need the most current information available. However, print sources should not be forgotten, as it is often quicker to retrieve data from an already identified source.
- Bureau of the Census. (1997-1998). State and metropolitan area data book.
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Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Govt Desk | Ref HA202 .S84 | PDF Format
- Bureau of the Census. (2000). County and city data book.
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Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Govt Desk | PDF format
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California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics. (2001). Vital statistics of California.
- Sacramento: Author. Govt Desk | Govt Stacks | PDF format
- California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics. (2004). County health status profiles.
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Sacramento: Author. Govt Desk | PDF format
- Cohn, V. & Cope, L. (2001). News & numbers: A guide to reporting statistical claims and controversies in health and other fields (2nd ed.).
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Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press. Main RA 407 .C64
- LexisNexis Statistical
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Online database
- Liska, D. W., Brennan, N. J., Bruen, B. K. (1998). State-level databook on health care access and financing (3rd ed.).
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Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press. Main RA 410.53 .L67
- Murray, C. J. L. & Lopez, A. D. (1996). Global health statistics: A compendium of incidence, prevalence, and mortality estimates for over 200 conditions.
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Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Govt Desk
- National Center for Health Statistics. (2003). Health, United States, 2003 with rural health chartbook. (DHHS Publication No. 2003-1232).
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Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Govt Desk | PDF format
- Sutocky, J. (Ed.). (2004). Leading health indicators for California.
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Sacramento: California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics. Govt Stacks | PDF format
- U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Statistics Division. (1999). Demographic Yearbook.
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New York: United Nations. Govt Desk
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2000). Healthy people 2010 (2nd ed., Vols. 1-2).
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Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Govt Desk | HTML, Word, PDF, RTF formats
- U.S. Treasury Department, Bureau of Statistics. (2003). Statistical abstract of the United States.
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Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Govt Desk | Ref Desk | PDF format
- The World almanac and book of facts. (2004).
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New York: Press Publishing Company. Govt Desk | Ref Desk | Ref AY 67 .N5 W7 | Online - SF State Users
Government Organizations
Often the best source for current health statistics and other information, government agencies' websites should not be overlooked when conducting research in public health. For an quick reference list to agencies of the World Health Organization and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, click here.
Topical Reference Sources
Health Behavior
- Gochman, D. S. (Ed.). (1997). Handbook of health behavior research.
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New York: Plenum Press. Main RA 776.9 .H363
- The new wellness encyclopedia. (1995).
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Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Main RA 776 .N396
- Shumaker, S. A. et al. (Eds.). (1998). The handbook of health behavior change (2nd ed.).
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New York: Springer. Main RA 776.9 .H36
Biostatistics & Epidemiology
- Armitage, P. & Colton, T. (Eds.). (1998). Encyclopedia of biostatistics (Vols. 1-6).
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New York: J. Wiley. Ref RA 409 .E53
- Chin, J. (Ed.). (2000). Control of communicable diseases manual (17th ed.).
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Washington, DC: American Public Health Association. Ref RA 643 .A5
- Handbook of infectious diseases. (2001).
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Springhouse, PA: Springhouse. Main RC 112 .H26
- Last, J. M. et al. (Eds.). (2001). A dictionary of epidemiology (4th ed.).
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New York: Oxford University Press. Ref RA 651 .D553
Consumer Health
- Longe, M. E. & Thomas, K. (1998). Consumer health resource centers: A guide to successful planning and implementation..
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Chicago: American Hospital. Main R 118.2 .L66
- Rees, A. M. (Ed.). (1998). The consumer health information source book (5th ed.).
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Phoenix: Oryx Press. Ref Z 6673 .R43
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Environmental Health
Genium Publishing Corporation. (1999). Genium's handbook of safety, health, and environmental data for common hazardous substances (Vols. 1-3).
- New York: McGraw Hill. Ref T 55.3 .H3 G46
- Koren, H. & Bisesi, M. (1996). Handbook of environmental health and safety: Principles and practices (3rd ed., Vols. 1-2).
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Boca Raton, FL: Lewis. Main RA 565 .K67
- Vincoli, J. W. (Ed.). (2000). Lewis' dictionary of occupational and environmental safety and health.
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Boca Raton, FL: Lewis. Ref T 55 .L468
Health Services Administration
- Caldwell, C. (Ed.). (1998). The handbook for managing change in health care.
- Milwaukee: ASQ Quality Press. Main RA 399 .A1 H36
- Garrett, M. J. (1999). Health futures: A handbook for health professionals.
- Geneva: World Health Organization. Govt Stacks
- Kiger, A. F. (Ed.). (1986). Acronyms and initialisms in health care administration .
- Chicago: American Hospital. Ref RA 962.2 .A28
- Ramsay, C. (Ed.). (1995). U.S. health policy groups: Institutional profiles.
- Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Main RA 395 .A3 U23
International Health
- Loue, S. (Ed.). (1998). Handbook of immigrant health.
- New York: Plenum Press. Main RA 448.5 .I44 H36
- Shannon, J. B. (Ed.). (2001). Worldwide health sourcebook: Basic information about global health issues, including malnutrition, reproductive health, disease dispersion and prevention, emerging diseases, risky health behaviors, and the leading causes of death (1st ed.).
- Detroit: Omnigraphics. Ref RA 441 .W68
- Thai, K. V., Wimberley, E. T., & McManus, S. M. (Eds.). (2002). Handbook of international health care systems..
- New York: Marcel Dekker. Ref RA 441 .H36
Maternal and Child Health
- Bankston, C. L. (Ed.). (1999). Encyclopedia of family life (Vols. 1-5).
- Pasadena, CA: Salem Press. Ref HQ 534 .E53
- Gay, K. (2002). Encyclopedia of women's health issues.
- Westport, CT: Oryx Press. Main RA 778 .G39
- Goldman, M. B. & Hatch, M. C. (Eds.). (2000). Women and health.
- San Diego: Academic Press. Main RA 778 .W742
- Henderson, H. (Ed.). (2000). Domestic violence and child abuse sourcebook (1st ed.).
- Detroit: Omnigraphics. Ref HV 6626.2 .D66
Occupational Health
- DiBerardinis, L. J. (Ed.). (1999). Handbook of occupational safety and health (2nd ed.).
- New York: Wiley. Main RC 967 .H26
- Proctor, N. H., & Hughes, J. P. (1996). Proctor and Hughes' chemical hazards of the workplace (4th Ed.) (G. J. Hathaway, Ed.).
- New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. Main RA 1229 .P76
- Vincoli, J. W. (Ed.). (2000). Lewis' dictionary of occupational and environmental safety and health.
- Boca Raton, FL: Lewis. Ref T 55 .L468
Public Health Practice
- Goldfarb, B. (1997). Health care defined: A glossary of current terms.
- Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins. Main RA 423 .G65
- Irons-Georges, T. (Ed.). (2001). Health issues (Vols. 1-2).
- Pasadena, CA: Salem Press. Main RA 425 .H39
- McDowell, I. & Newell, C. (1996). Measuring health: A guide to rating scales and questionnaires (2nd ed.).
- New York: Oxford University Press. Ref RA 408.5 .M38
- Modeste, N. N. (1996). A dictionary of public health promotion and education: Terms and concepts.
- Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Ref RA 440.5 .M634
- Petersen, D. J. & Alexander, G. R. (2001). Needs assessment in public health: A practical guide for students and professionals.
- New York: Kluwer Academic. Main RA 425 .P38
- Tulchinsky, T. H. & Varavikova, E. A. (2000). The new public health: An introduction for the 21st century.
- San Diego: Academic Press. Main RA 425 .T77
