Researching Health and Human Rights
Posted Feb. 13, 2009. Updated Oct. 14, 2009.
Prepared by Mary Whisner for Prof. Joel Ngugi's class, Health, Human
Rights, and Social Transformation in the Greater Horn of Africa (SISAF 490/SOC
W 598G/SOC WF498B)
Introduction
Health and human rights are linked in many ways. Violations of human rights can have serious health consequences; unfairly administered health policies or programs can violate human rights; protecting human rights can reduce individuals' vulnerability to ill health and its effects. World Health Organization, 25 Questions & Answers on Health & Human Rights at 8 (2002). This document is an excellent introduction to the topic.
Legal Instruments
Researchers note: Annex I of 25 Questions & Answers lists relevant legal instruments such as treaties and UN resolutions (at 29-31). Minnesota Human Rights Library International Human Rights Instruments has the text of these (and other) instruments.
Human Rights Research Guides
Gallagher Law Library, Human Rights Research
American Society of International Law, ASIL Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law
Health and Human Rights Guides
University of Minnesota Human Rights Library, Study Guide: The Right to Means for Adequate Health (2003). Cites and quotes international conventions and other instruments that protect (or arguably protect) health as a human right. Includes regional sources such as the African Union.
American Medical Student Association, Health & Human Rights Resource List
Health and Human Rights Organizations
International Governmental Organizations (IGOs)
United Nations. See United Nations Research.
World Health Organization -- Health and Human Rights
UNICEF (children's issues)
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
Amnesty International -- Health and Human Rights
International Committee of the Red Cross (humanitarian assistance for victims of war and armed violence)
International Federation of Health and Human Rights Organisations
International Rescue Committee
International Society for Health and Human Rights
- Health and Human Rights Info -- information on mental health and human rights; pages on gender based violence; child soldiers; post traumatic stress disorder disaster; asylum seekers in Europe; post conflict communities and transitional justice; torture; ethics; helping the helpers
Links for Greater Horn of Africa
See Stanford University's list of links, Africa South of the Sahara, Topic: Human Rights
University of New South Wales School of Public Health & Community Medicine has pages linking to IGOs, NGOs, government reports, etc., by country:
Finding Books and Articles
Catalogs
UW WorldCat (includes University Libraries, hundreds of other libraries -- including Gallagher -- and some journal articles)
Gallagher Law Library (just the law library)
Article Indexes and Databases
Note:
when you are off campus, you will need to log in with your UW NetID for
off-campus access to most of these databases. Look for the link in the upper
right corners of any University
Libraries pages or Gallagher Law
Library pages.
Great starting place: UW Libraries Subject Guides. Depending on what you're looking for, you might use databases listed under Law, International Studies, Public Health, or News -- or maybe a combination of these.
Electronic Journals
If you find a citation to an article -- either in an index or in something else you're reading -- check for the journal in the lists of electronic journals from the law library and UW Libraries.
LexisNexis Academic
Full-text databases of law reviews, newspapers, magazines. Also has excellent coverage of U.S. primary law (cases, statutes, regulations). Tips:
- When you retrieve too much, try searching for your terms in the title of an article.
- Use connectors to make your search more precise. Example:
- broad: health care and kenya
- focused: access w/10 health care or doctor or clinic or hospital w/50 kenya*
- To browse quickly through your results, use KWIC (Key Word In Context) display.
LegalTrac
Index of law reviews and legal newspapers, with some full text. Sample search:
SSRN
SSRN is a free database of published and unpublished papers. You can search abstracts; usually the papers are available for download. This is not UW-restricted. Sample search:
Sample abstract:
PAIS International
Public affairs and political science articles, books, and government reports from around the world. Sample search:
PubMed
PubMed is the standard database for scholarly articles in medicine. Sample search:
