Page 88 - Encyclopedia of Nursing Research

CINAHL DATABASE n 55
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index cards to meet the needs of the nurses design, methodology, analysis, and data col-
on the staff of White Memorial Hospital and, lection have been added, as have the names
later, Los Angeles County Hospital. This of nursing specialties, organizations, and C
index which began as an internal project was classification systems.
published as The Cumulative Index to Nursing Aside from the terms used, the mate-
Literature in 1961, a cumulation of indexing rials indexed are different from those in
covering the period 1956 to 1960. Seventeen indexes of the biomedical and other litera-
journals were included in this publication— ture. Books and book chapters, pamphlets,
from the American Journal of Nursing and pamphlet chapters, dissertations, audiovisu-
Nursing Research to the American Association als, consumer health, and patient education
of Industrial Nurses Journal. The “red books” materials are just a few of the other types of
as this publication became known were well materials indexed. Because of the difficulty
received in the nursing community (Raisig, in obtaining these materials, they are often
1964) and became a familiar part of nursing defined as elusive or fugitive literature.
education throughout the United States. other changes have also taken place over
over the next four decades and more, these years. Recognizing that the boundaries
the index grew and changed, reflecting the of nursing intersect with many other health
changes taking place in the profession itself. care disciplines, allied health was added
Although, as would be expected, many index- to the index title in 1977, resulting in the
ing terms are similar or identical to those Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health
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used in the indexing of biomedical journals, Literature (CInAHL ). There are 17 such dis-
there are some important differences, and ciplines covered, including physical therapy,
the many terms added to the thesaurus dem- occupational therapy, and communicative
onstrate the development and growth of the disorders. In 1983, the CInAHL electronic

nursing profession, both as a practice and as a database became part of several online ser-
science. The thesaurus is composed of a hier- vices and was released as a CD-RoM in 1989.
archical tree structure that is used to index Recent years have seen the development
to the most specific focus of the material. of CInAHL-created documents as part of the
Broad categories include anatomy, diseases, database. These include research instrument
and health care, among others. An example descriptions, clinical innovations, accredita-
of this hierarchy would be as follows: tion materials, and legal case descriptions.
The database can no longer be viewed as
Social control only a bibliographic database although that
Human rights continues to be its primary function. Like
Patient rights Index Medicus, the print index is no longer
Treatment refusal published in printed form; the database is
now available only electronically.
An article specifically concerning a patient Throughout the nearly 50 years of its
who was unwilling to accept care would be existence, the primary goal of CInAHL
indexed with the most specific term: “treat- Information Systems, as publisher of the
ment refusal.” A more general article might index and now the database, has been to
be indexed using the “patient rights” term. connect nursing and later allied health pro-
Increased emphasis on nursing research, fessionals with materials written about and
specialty and advanced practice, or managed for them. The basic premise underlying the
care has resulted in indexing terms such as existence of this tool is that effective and
phenomenology, survival analysis, family knowledgeable practice depends on access
nurse practitioners, case management, and to materials describing or studying that
nursing intensity. Research terms describing practice. These materials may be present