Efficient searching for NICE public health guidelines: Would using fewer sources still find the evidence?

Systematic searches are integral to identifying the evidence that is used in National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) public health guidelines (PHGs). This study analyses the sources, including bibliographic databases and other techniques, required for PHGs. The aims were to analyse the sources used to identify the publications included in NICE PHGs; and to assess whether fewer sources could have been searched to retrieve these publications.

Literature searching methods or guidance and their application to public health topics: A narrative review.

Background: Information specialists conducting searches for systematic reviews need to consider key questions around which and how many sources to search. This is particularly important for public health topics where evidence may be found in diverse sources.

Objectives: The objective of this review is to give an overview of recent studies on information retrieval guidance and methods that could be applied to public health evidence and used to guide future searches.