Research guides: Health &amp; Society Resources @ UTSC: Find Health Policy Resources

Recommended Health Policy Databases and Collections

Journal Articles

The following databases primarily contain scholarly journal articles related to health policy:

PubMed This link opens in a new window
Public version of Medline, the core database for health sciences disciplines. This platform is best for quick clinical searches.
HealthSTAR (Ovid) This link opens in a new window
Published research on health services, technology, administration, and research, focusing on both the clinical and non-clinical aspects of health care delivery.
CINAHL This link opens in a new window
Contains citation information and abstracts from journals in nursing and health professions. The Ebsco platform is appropriate for systematic and scoping reviews as well as other advanced searches.
PAIS Index This link opens in a new window
International research in public affairs, public and social policies, and international relations. Provides access to journal articles, books, government documents, research and conference reports, and more.

Grey Literature

The following databases and collections contain grey literature related to health policy, such as policy briefs, government documents, reports, and working papers or white papers:

Policy Commons This link opens in a new window
The world's largest database for public policy, with millions of reports, working papers, policy briefs, data sources, and media drawn from a directory of more than 20,000 IGOs, NGOs, think tanks, and research centers. Includes the Canadian Public Policy Document Collection.
PolicyFile (US) This link opens in a new window
Search and access reports from over 300 active think tanks, research organizations, and advocacy groups. Includes current research on virtually every public policy issue, with international coverage from many organizations around the world, as well as in-depth coverage of U.S. domestic policy organizations.
Columbia International Affairs Online (CIAO) This link opens in a new window
Indexes working papers and case studies from university research institutes, occasional papers series from NGOs, foundation-funded research projects, proceedings from conferences, book, journals, and policy briefs. Focus on international affairs.
Canadian Research Index This link opens in a new window
Includes federal, provincial, and municipal documents, publications issued by hundreds of Canadian government agencies and departments, scientific and technical report literature issued by research institutes and government laboratories, policy, social, economic, and political reports, and more.
Canadian Public Documents Collection on Scholars Portal This link opens in a new window
Curated collection of publications from Canadian research institutes, government agencies and university centres working in the area of Canadian public policy, health and medical research. Includes the Canadian Public Policy Collection and Canadian Health Research Collection. IMPORTANT NOTE: In the drop-down menu for Collection, select Canadian Public Documents Collection.

Canadian Think Tanks Collection on Scholars Portal Books
Curated collection of publications from Canadian think tanks. IMPORTANT NOTE: In the drop-down menu for Collection, select Canadian Think Tanks Collection.
Canadian Electronic Library on Scholars Portal Books
A collection of books from Canada's scholarly and independent publishers, as well as public policy papers from think tanks and government sources. IMPORTANT NOTE: In the drop-down menu for Collection, select Canadian Electronic Library.
University of Toronto Public Policy Reports Collection (TSpace)
This curated collection assembles policy-related research reports produced by University of Toronto units. It is a collection of grey literature which aims to improve discoverability of U of T contributions in a diversity of areas including local, provincial, national, and global public policy matters that are important for the understanding of developing issues.

Recommended Health Policy Journals

The following journals publish articles focused on health policy:

Healthcare Policy
Canadian journal for health services and policy researchers. Designed to be a key knowledge translation vehicle to stimulate communication between researchers and health care decision makers.
Canadian Medical Association Journal
General medical journal with a Canadian focus. Covers health systems research and health policy.
Health Affairs
Bimonthly peer-reviewed journal that is considered one of the best health policy journals.
Health Policy & Planning
Health policy journal with a focus on developing countries
Health Policy
Journal focused on developing, implementing, and analyzing health policy, health systems and health care reforms, primarily in high-income countries outside the U.S.A.
Health Services Research
Journal concerned with the translation of health services research into improved practice and policy.
The Milbank Quarterly
A multidisciplinary journal of population health and health policy.
Health Research Policy and Systems
Health Research Policy and Systems covers all aspects of the organisation and use of health research – including agenda setting, building health research capacity, and how research as a whole benefits decision makers, practitioners in health and related fields, and society at large.
Medical Care Research and Review
Journal containing critical reviews of literature on organizational structure, economics, and the financing of health and medical care systems.
Journal of Public Health Policy
Articles on the epidemiological and social foundations of public health policy.
Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law
Focuses on the initiation, formulation, and implementation of health policy and analyzes the relations between government and health
Health Economics, Policy and Law
Highlights international trends and economic, political and legal considerations in the health policy process.

Health Policy Websites

Health Agencies and Organizations

Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI)
CIHI is the authority for healthcare system data in Canada, including expenditures and performance, and health system usage.
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research is the major federal agency responsible for funding health and medical research in Canada. Composed of 13 Institutes, CIHR collaborates with partners and researchers to support the discoveries and innovations that improve our health and strengthen our health care system.
Health Canada
Health Canada is responsible for helping Canadians maintain and improve their health. It ensures that high-quality health services are accessible, and works to reduce health risks. See their section on Reports and Publications.
Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)
The Public Health Agency of Canada is an agency of the Government of Canada that is responsible for public health, emergency preparedness and response, and infectious and chronic disease control and prevention.
National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health (NCCIH)
The National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health (NCCIH) is a national Indigenous organization established by the Government of Canada and funded through the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). The NCCIH supports First Nations, Inuit, and Métis public health renewal and health equity through knowledge translation and exchange.
Public Health Ontario (PHO)
Public Health Ontario is dedicated to protecting and promoting the health of all Ontarians and reducing inequities in health.
World Health Organization (WHO)
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health.

Associations

Canadian Public Health Association
The Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) is a national, independent, not-for-profit, voluntary association representing public health in Canada with links to the international public health community. Their website includes a section on policy and advocacy.
Canadian Mental Health Association
The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is a community mental health organization that provides advocacy, programs, and resources that help to prevent mental health problems and illnesses and support recovery and resilience. Their website includes policy statements.
Canadian Association for Health Services and Policy Research
The Canadian Association for Health Services and Policy Research (CAHSPR) is a multidisciplinary association dedicated to improving health and health care by advancing the quality, relevance, and application of research on health services and health policy.
College of Family Physicians of Canada
The College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) is the professional organization supports family medicine teaching and research, and advocates on behalf of the specialty of family medicine, family physicians, and the patients they serve. Their website includes policy statements, discussion papers on health care, primary care, and family medicine issues and policies.

Think Tanks and Research Institutions

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA)
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is an independent, non-partisan research institute concerned with issues of social, economic and environmental justice.
Canadian Policy Research Networks
A socio-economic think tank and non-profit organization with charitable status, funded from a variety of sources. Major research areas include cities and communities and health and health human resources. CPRN closed in 2009.
The Institute for Research on Public Policy
The IRPP seeks to improve public policy in Canada by generating research, providing insight and informing debate on current and emerging policy issues facing Canadians and their governments
The Fraser Institute
The Fraser Institute is a Canadian public policy think tank and registered charity. TIP: Use the research dropdown menu at the top of the page to get to documents on specific themes.
Canadian Council on Social Development
The CCSD was a not-for-profit, non-partisan organization that partnered and collaborated with all sectors and communities to advance solutions to social challenges. Although CCSD is no longer active, you can access their reports and reports in their online archive.
Canadian Women's Health Network
The Canadian Women's Health Network (CWHN) is a network of individuals, groups, organizations and institutions concerned with women's health. The CWHN provides access to a wide variety of health resources, including health policy.
Centre for Health Economics & Policy Analysis (McMaster University)
CHEPA is a world-class interdisciplinary health research centre that fosters excellence in acquiring, producing and communicating socially-relevant knowledge in the fields of health economics and health policy analysis to inform fair and sustainable health and social systems. They are home to one of the largest concentrations of health economists and health policy analysts in Canada.
Children's Health Policy Centre (Simon Fraser University)
This research group focuses on integrating research and policy to improve children’s social and emotional well-being or children’s mental health. Includes articles and research reports.
Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES)
Research including the assessment of care delivery, patterns of service utilization, health technologies, drug therapies and treatment modalities.
Wellesley Institute
The Wellesley Institute works in research and policy to improve health and health equity in the GTA through action on the social determinants of health. Their website has research reports, policy briefs, and other publications.
Health Systems and Policy Monitor
An innovative platform that provides a detailed description of health systems and provides up to date information on reforms and changes that are particularly policy relevant.

Additional Resources

Public Policy and Governance - Library Guide
This guide describes selected online and print reference resources related to public policy and governance. It includes key Canadian information and resources from governments, IGOs, and NGOs.
Public Policy: Key Government Resources - Library Guide
A guide to governmental and grey literature sources for public policy research.
Assignment Planner: Policy Brief
Breaks down your policy brief assignment into manageable steps based on your due dates.
NOTE: Select "policy brief" under the Type of Assignment menu.