Global Health Research Guide

THERE ARE THREE RESEARCH STEPS IN THE GLOBAL HEALTH SEMINAR PROJECT:

1. Find a country and a human rights-related health law issue of singificance 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://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/health/right/index.htm 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/water/wwap/case_studies/index.shtml

World Bank  http://web.worldbank.org/countries

Medecins sans Frontieres  http://www.msf.org/msfinternational/countries/

Health Policy Monitor (industrialized countries) http://www.hpm.org/index.jsp

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://www2a.cdc.gov/phlp/IPHL.asp
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/health
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

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/ency/encyclopedia_Ch-Co.htm

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/index.htm
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/our_work/global_health/

World Health Organization
http://www.who.int/en/

Human Rights Watch
http://www.hrw.org/en/topic/health

U. Minnesota Health & Human Rights Links
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/links/health.html

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.

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.