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Originally a print index to the literature of nursing and eventually allied health information, the CINAHL® database has emerged as a comprehensive and versatile guide to an exploding body of knowledge, and now extends beyond the limits of a bibliographic print index.

Although a bibliographic database, the CINAHL database continues to include selected original and full-text material.   Full text is included for selected state nursing journals and some newsletters, standards of practice, practice acts, government publications, research instruments and patient education material.  For current information or a list of full-text material, please contact us by using this form.

The abstracts, when available and with publisher permission, are included in the database to assist with the evaluation of journal articles. Currently abstracts for more than 924 journal titles (active and inactive) are available. CINAHL abstracts are available for audiovisuals and educational software.

The citation index, started in 1994, continues to grow in leaps and bounds. There are now citations in the database, and these can be used to track the evolution of ideas in the professional literature. Citations are included (when we have the publisher's permission) for nursing, allied health and health sciences librarianship journals.

The CINAHL® database covers the nursing and allied health literature from 1982 to the present. Here’s a complete list of what the CINAHL® database now offers:

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Subject Coverage:
The CINAHL® database covers nursing and allied health literature from 1982 to the present.  Here's a complete list of the disciplines covered.
The nursing disciplines covered include the following:
Addictions Nursing HIV-AIDS Nursing Pediatric Critical Care Nursing
Ambulatory Care Nursing Holistic Nursing Pediatric Nursing
Anesthesia Nursing Home Nursing, Professional Pediatric Oncology Nursing
Burn Nursing Hospice and Palliative Nursing Perianesthesia Nursing
Camp Nursing   Intravenous Nursing Perinatal Nursing
Cardiovascular Nursing Military Nursing Perioperative Nursing
Community Health Nursing Maternal-Child Nursing Practical Nursing
Community Mental Health Nursing Medical-Surgical Nursing Private Duty Nursing
Coronary Care Nursing Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing Psychiatric Nursing
Correctional Health Nursing Neonatal Nursing Radiological Nursing
Critical Care Nursing Nephrology Nursing Rehabilitation Nursing
Dermatology Nursing Neuroscience Nursing Respiratory Nursing
Emergency Nursing Nurse Midwifery Rural Health Nursing
Enterostomal Therapy Nursing Obstetric Nursing School Health Nursing
Family Nursing Occupational Health Nursing Spinal Cord Injury Nursing
Flight Nursing Office Nursing Surgical Nursing, Plastic
Forensic Nursing Oncologic Nursing Trauma Nursing
Gastroenterology Nursing Ophthalmic Nursing Urologic Nursing
Genetics Nursing Orthopedic Nursing  
Gerontologic Nursing Otorhinolaryngology and Head-Neck  
Geropsychiatric Nursing   Nursing  
Gynecologic Nursing Parish Nursing  
The allied health disciplines include the following:
Athletic Training Medical/Laboratory Technology Radiologic Technology
Audiology Medical Assisting Respiratory Therapy
Cardiopulmonary Technology Nutrition & Dietetics Social Service in Health Care
Dental Hygiene Occupational Therapy Speech-Language Pathology
Emergency Services Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Surgical Technology
Health Information Management Physician Assistants  
Other subject areas include the following:
AIDS Care Consumer Health Law and Legal Issues in Health Care
Alternative/Complementary Medicine Gerontology Oncology
Behavioral Science Health Promotion and Education Optometry
Biomedicine Health Sciences Librarianship Podiatry
Chiropractic Health Services Administration Women's Health
 

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Subject Headings:
CINAHL subject headings are used to index the literature contained in the database.  These subject headings were developed to reflect the terminology used by nursing and the allied health professionals.  CINAHL subject headings follow the structure of the Medical Subject Headings, or MeSH, used by the National Library of Medicine.  This structure has been used to develop CINAHL subject headings.  These subject headings are used to effectively search the database and retrieve literature citations on a specific topic.

For a complete list of terms, please consult the annual CINAHL Subject Heading List® available in the CINAHLstore®.

 
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Specific Interest Categories:
The database contains searchable categories of literature for several specialties.  Just click on your Specific Interest Category to retrieve a list of literature citations in your field.  You can retrieve the most recent literature by limiting your category to our latest update.
Advanced Nursing Practice Men's Health Pediatric Care
Case Management Military/Uniformed Services Perioperative Care
Chiropractic Care Nursing Administration Physical Therapy
Consumer Health Nursing Education Psychiatry/Psychology
Critical Care Nursing Language/Classification Public Health
Dental Care Nutrition Quality Assurance
Emergency Care Obstetric Care Social Work
Evidence-Based Practice Occupational Therapy Speech-Language 
Gerontologic Care Oncologic Care  Pathology/Audiology
Home Health Care Pain and Pain Management Sports Medicine
Hospice/Palliative Care Patient Safety Women's Health
Informatics Home Health Care Wound Care

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Publication/Document Types:
CINAHL document types represent the type of publication being indexed (journal, book, audiovisual, pamphlet, software, dissertation, or research instrument).  They can also describe the format of the individual item being indexed (e.g., editorial, research, review) or indicate the presence of some special data (e.g., exam questions, care plan, questionnaire). 

Unique CINAHL Database® Publication/Document Types:
The following Publication/Document Types are unique to the CINAHL database.  
  • Clinical Innovations:
    These documents describe new approaches to patient care.  They cover pain assessment and documentation, fall risk assessment and prevention, and improving readability of print materials in patient care.
  • Accreditation:
    Competencies for all jobs in a hospital setting are updated annually in the database.  The accreditation records in the database have been updated to comply with 2004 JCAHO standards.
  • Legal Cases: Click here for a sample record
    These documents include summaries of court cases resulting from malpractice lawsuits.
  • Drugs: Click here for a sample record
    These documents include a description of the drug, nursing and other healthcare personnel considerations, information for the educator and a patient information handout.
  • Research Instruments: Click here for a sample record
    These documents describe research instruments and give information on how to obtain them.  There are currently research instruments in the database, of which are full text.

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Selected Full-Text Material in the CINAHL Database® Includes:
State Nursing Journal Articles Legal Cases Patient Education Material
Research Instruments Standards of Practice Accreditation Records
Critical Paths Nurse Practice Acts Drugs
Clinical Innovations Government Publications
 

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Quality Filters Available in the CINAHL® Database:
Journal Subsets:
There are 23 Journal Subsets that can be used to help better define your search.
Africa Consumer Health
Asia Core Nursing
Australia & New Zealand Health Services Administration
Canada Health Promotion/Education
  Europe Nursing
Mexico and Central /South America Peer Reviewed
United Kingdom and Ireland   Blind Peer Reviewed
United States   Double Blind Peer Reviewed
Allied Health   Editorial Board Reviewed
Alternative/Complementary Therapies   Expert Peer Review
Biomedical Public Health
Computer/Information Science
Topical Subheadings:
There are 68 topical subheadings that can be applied to CINAHL subject headings.  CINAHL subject headings can be modified by the addition of these subheadings, thereby providing more specific access.  For more information on Topical Subheadings please see the Subject Headings section.
 
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Journals Indexed:
The CINAHL® database includes citations from 2,593 journals of which are currently indexed. Some journals have ceased publication, changed names or are no longer indexed in the database. Of the 2,593 journals indexed, 1,798 include author abstracts. Journals cover nursing, allied health, biomedicine, alternative/complementary medicine, consumer health and health sciences librarianship

 
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Current CINAHL® Database Statistics:
Total Records as of Full-Text Records in Database
Current Number of Journals Indexed Full-Text Articles in Database
Nursing Journals Critical Paths
Allied Health Journals Drugs
Alternative/Complementary Therapy Journals Government Publications
Biomedical Journals AHCPR Guidelines
Consumer Health Journals Legal Cases
Journals with Abstracts Practice Acts
Journals with Cited References Standards of Practice
Cited References
Subject Headings
New Subject Headings for 2006
Audiovisual Records
Dissertation Records
Software Records
Research Instruments ( in full text)
Current CINAHLPlus® Database Statistics:
Total Records as of Full-Text Records in Database
Current Number of Journals Indexed Full-Text Articles in Database
Nursing Journals Critical Paths
Allied Health Journals Drugs
Alternative/Complementary Therapy Journals Government Publications
Biomedical Journals AHCPR Guidelines
Consumer Health Journals Legal Cases
Journals with Abstracts Practice Acts
Journals with Cited References Standards of Practice
Cited References Evidence Based Care Sheets
Subject Headings Continuing Education Units
New Subject Headings for 2006 Quick Lessons
Audiovisual Records Website Descriptions
Dissertation Records Conference Records
Software Records National Guideline Clearinghouse
Research Instruments ( in full text)
 
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