CINAHL Complete

The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) Complete is subscription aggregate health and allied health sciences database own exclusively by EBSCO and available via the EBSCOhost platform. CINAHL Complete is the premier product in the lineup of five tiered versions including CINAHL, CINAHL Plus, CINAHL with Full Text, and CINAHL Plus with Full Text. The product has a wide audience of users including students, instructors, researchers, and practitioners. This robust collection indexes over 5,600 journals beginning in 1937, with 1,200 journals being offered with full-text and the large majority with no embargo. CINAHL Complete is valued for its substantial indexing of publications core to the nursing field, use of MeSH subject headings, and numerous options for advanced searching unique to the health sciences. Value-added features include accredited continuing education modules, evidence-based care sheets, and quick lessons. While the database is not an e-book aggregator, it includes a relatively small collection of e-books with most titles being rather outdated.

A potential drawback for those considering the addition of CINAHL Complete to their library is the lack of sharing of metadata between EBSCO and other commercial vendors which may complicate the reliability of linking to records for those libraries using a discovery service other than EBSCO Discovery Service. While much less sizeable in its holdings, ProQuest’s Nursing & Allied Health Source may be another possibility, particularly for those seeking a database for use with an academic population. EBSCO’s MEDLINE Complete may also be an option, particularly for those seeking historical publications in addition to current research.