Identifying primary research on electronic databases to inform decision-making in health promotion: the case of sexual health promotion

Abstract

Evidence of the effectiveness of health promotion to support decision-making has become increasingly important to health promotion practitioners and policy-makers. Primary research on effectiveness, however, is not always easily accessible. This study aimed to contribute to strategies for facilitating access to this research by exploring the development and implementation of search strategies for identifying effectiveness research, in the area of sexual health promotion, on five commonly used electronic databases. Firstly, search stra tegies to locate all available research were developed; secondly, the implications of restrictions on the extent of searcliing were investigated. Undertaking sys tematic searching was complex and time-consuming. Although useful ways to reduce the effort involved were identified, in the context of conducting sys tematic reviews, these came with 'trade-offs' in terms of the number of poten tially important studies missed. These findings suggest an urgent need for wide dissemination of search strategies and specialised registers of health promotion studies. This study is part of an ongoing programme of work on facilitating evidence-based health promotion, and this the third and final paper in a series published in three consecutive issues of the HEJ.