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Spinal palpation: The challenges of information retrieval using available databases
Linda S Murphy1, Sibylle Reinsch, Wadie I Najm
1Susan Samueli Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, University of California Irvine, College of Medicine, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA. lmurphy@uci.edu
Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics
|August 7, 2003
Summary
PubMed MEDLINE often misses complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) studies. Specialized databases like MANTIS offer better yield for CAM research, though access and cost can be barriers.
Area of Science:
- Information Science
- Health Sciences
- Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)
Background:
- PubMed MEDLINE is a primary resource for biomedical literature.
- Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) research may be inadequately indexed in general databases.
- Effective literature searching is crucial for evidence-based practice in manual therapies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the yield of PubMed MEDLINE with other databases for CAM studies.
- To develop an effective search strategy for CAM research, using spinal palpation reliability as a sample question.
Main Methods:
- A systematic search was conducted across 13 databases, including PubMed and MANTIS.
- Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and keywords relevant to osteopathic, allopathic, chiropractic, and physical therapy were utilized.
- Inclusion criteria were applied to evaluate the precision and sensitivity of search results.
Main Results:
- Out of 1189 initial citations, 49 met the inclusion criteria.
- PubMed yielded 19 relevant studies, while MANTIS yielded 35.
- Specialized databases provided better coverage of CAM literature, though cost and accessibility varied.
Conclusions:
- General databases like PubMed may have limitations in indexing and covering CAM publications.
- Subject-specific databases are recommended for comprehensive CAM literature searches.
- Factors such as access, cost, and usability influence the selection of specialized databases.