Global Health Research Guide

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See also the library's foreign & international research page.

There Are Three Research Steps in the Global Health Seminar Project:

1. Find a country and a human rights-related health law issue of significance in that country.
2. Investigate the health issue to the extent that you can explain how it impacts society.
3. Look for national and international human rights law, environmental law, and possibly trade law to figure out a way of arguing that the country has a legal obligation to fix the medical issue.

1. Find a Country and a Human Rights-related Health Law Issue of Significance in That Country.

Country Studies

• WHO
  http://www.who.int/countries/en/
• UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
  http://www.ohchr.org
  See also http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Health/Pages/SRRightHealthIndex.aspx Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.  His report is on reserve at our law library.
• UNESCO (Water)
  http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/water/
• European Country of Origin Network 
  http://www.ecoi.net
• World Bank 
  http://www.worldbank.org/
• Medecins sans Frontieres 
  http://www.msf.org/msf/countries/countries_home.cfm
• Health Policy Monitor (industrialized countries)
  http://www.hpm.org/en/index.html
• State Department
  http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/index.htm

Research Reports

• U.S. General Accounting Office
  http://www.gao.gov/docsearch/repandtest.html
  Example- U.S. Agencies Support Programs to Build Overseas Capacity for Infectious Disease Surveillance
• Centers for Disease Control 
  http://www.cdc.gov/globalhealth/gdder/
  Example- Emerging Trends in International Law and Their Implications for Domestic and Global Public Health Practice
• Physicians for Human Rights
  http://physiciansforhumanrights.org/library
  Example- Deadly Delays: Maternal Mortality in Peru
• World Bank   
  http://www-wds.worldbank.org
  Example- Discordant couples : HIV infection among couples in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, and Tanzania
• The George Institute for International Public Health
  http://www.thegeorgeinstitute.org/
  Example- The malaria product pipeline: planning for the future
• Center for Global Development
  http://www.cgdev.org/section/topics/
  Example- Making Markets for Vaccines
• Council on Foreign Relations
  http://www.cfr.org/issue/publication_list.html?id=114
  Example- Kassalow: Eyeglasses for the Developing World
• Global Health Council
  http://www.globalhealth.org/
  Example: Understanding the Burden of Cancer in Developing Countries

   

2. Investigate the Health Issue to the Extent That You Can Explain How It Impacts Society.

Medical Journal Databases

• Medical Encyclopedia
  http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/encyclopedia.html
• Scopus
  http://www.scopus.com/
• Medline
  http://www.hsls.pitt.edu/resources/ovid

Find books in the RA 441 Call # range at the medical library.

Public Policy & Social Science Sources

• Public Affairs Information Service
  http://www.library.pitt.edu/articles/database_info/pais.html
  Articles, white papers, and conference proceedings
• PolicyFile
  http://www.policyfile.com/home.do
  Reports from public policy think tanks and other research organizations.
• JSTOR
  http://www.jstor.org/search/
  Journal articles in anthropology, sociology, public health, international and foreign affairs…
• Springer Link
  http://www.springerlink.com/home/main.mpx
  English language articles from science-related journals published in many countries.

Government Agencies and Nongovernmental Organizations

• Global Health Library (WHO)
  http://www.globalhealthlibrary.net/php/index.php
  Index to scholarly journals and reports.
• National Institutes of Health -  Fogarty International Center
  http://www.fic.nih.gov/Pages/Default.aspx
  See the Disease Control Priorities Project and the International Epidemiology and Population Studies
• FDA List of Foreign Health Agencies
  http://www.fda.gov/oia/agencies.htm
• US Agency for International Development
  http://www.usaid.gov/
• World Health Organization
  http://www.who.int/en/
• Human Rights Watch
  http://www.hrw.org/health
• U. Minnesota Health & Human Rights Links
  http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/links/health.html
• Centers for Disease Control- Global Health
  http://www.cdc.gov/Globalhealth/

3. Look for National and International Human Rights Law, Environmental Law, and Possibly Trade Law to Figure out a Way of Arguing That the Country Has a Legal Obligation to Fix the Medical Issue.

• EISIL
  http://www.eisil.org
  Electronic Information System for International Law.  Links to treaties and research sources within topic categories.
• Parliamentary Bodies Dealing with Human Rights
  http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/instance-hr.asp
• Foreign Law Guide
  http://foreignlawguide.com/ip/
  Describes national governments and legal systems and identifies their sources of law.
• World Legal Information Institute
  http://www.worldlii.org/catalog/215.html
  Link to electronic sources of foreign law.
• International Law Yearbooks
  Available on the 3rd floor of the law library in aisles 3-53 and 3-54 and at http://www.heinonline.org/HOL/Index?collection=intyb
  Annual summaries of national and regional international law developments.
• Links to Domestic Courts
  http://www.law.pitt.edu/library/international/courts
• International Tribunals
  http://www.law.pitt.edu/library/International/tribunals
• Law Journals
  http://www.law.pitt.edu/library/International/journals   
• Intergovernmental Organizations
  http://www.law.pitt.edu/library/International/igo
  Links to entities that draft treaties, operate tribunals, and monitor international law.
• Human Rights Law Books  K3240-3699
  These include issues of health, environment, gender, and other legal connections to global health.
• Peace Palace Library
  http://www.ppl.nl/
• UNBISnet
  http://unbisnet.un.org/
  The United Nations’ library catalog.  It links to electronic versions o6f documents anywhere in the U.N. site.  Non-electronic versions are at Hillman.
• ECLAS
  http://ec.europa.eu/eclas/F
  The European Commission’s library catalog.  It includes journal articles as well as books and Web pages.
• Health as a Right Deserving International Protection
  Background article from the Max Planck Encyclopedia.

QUIZ presented in the research lesson.