About the Databases

The MCH Library maintains several databases to collect, manage, and disseminate knowledge about maternal and child health (MCH), with special emphasis on knowledge gained from initiatives and programs supported by the federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The library also provides a thesaurus of terms that are used to index the databases.

The databases are:

• MCHLine^® (find books and other materials)
• Organizations (find MCH organizatiosn)
• MCH Projects (find MCHB-funded projects)
• Healthy Start (find Healthy Start materials)
• MCH Alert (find annotated articles)

The databases are described below.

MCHLine^® and NCEMCH | Search MCHLine^®

This database lists materials held in the Mary C. Egan Maternal and Child Health Library. The library focuses on materials for health professionals and for consumers about taking care of the health of mothers and children and about federal, state, and local health programs. Materials include advice for parents and professional literature such as studies and reports, guidelines and manuals, curricula, policy documents, survey instruments, and unique material on the history of maternal and child health in the United States. The library collection focuses on materials from federal and state agencies, grantees of federal and state agencies, and professional and voluntary agencies. Materials on clinical medicine and commercially published literature are collected very selectively. Annotated bibliographies developed from MCHLine^® are available on key MCH topics.

MCH Organizations Database | Search MCH Organizations Database

This database lists government, professional, and other organizations that provide information on MCH topics to health professionals and the public. Most organizations included in the database work at the national level, although regional and state organizations in selected categories are also included. Organizations resource lists on selected MCH topics are available.

MCH Projects Database | Search MCH Projects Database

This database tracks projects funded by MCHB, including Special Projects of Regional and National Significance (SPRANS) through October 1, 2004, other projects funded under Title V of the Social Security Act, and programs funded outside Title V (i.e., the Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) program, the Healthy Start Initiative, the Traumatic Brain Injury program). Descriptions of projects funded after 2004 are available from MCHB's Discretionary Grant Information System. See selected recent final reports in electronic formats.

Healthy Start Collection Database | Search Healthy Start Collection Database

This database contains descriptions of over 2,000 items collected from Healthy Start communities by the National Healthy Start Resource Center. The database includes materials for consumers and materials for health professionals. The resource center ceased operation in September 30, 2002.

MCH Alert | Search MCH Alert Database

This database contains articles from the MCH Alert from January 2001 to the present. The MCH Alert includes announcements of new publications and summaries of current articles from professional journals. Issues of the MCH Alert from its inception (1998) can be located using the NCEMCH site search or can be viewed on the on the All Issues page.