Many medical collections, like PubMed, CINAHL Ultimate, and Medline, will have a thesaurus, which provides a guide of preferred terminology to be used in searches.  For example, people between the ages of 13 and 18 can be described as teenagers, teens, adolescents, young adults, etc.  A heart attack is also known as cardiac arrest, and myocardial infarction.  Which terminology should be searched?  Do we know all of the terms that might be used, including any technical terms?  Has the terminology used today always been the preferred term, or has the language changed over time, as is the case with manic depression and bipolar disorder?  CINAHL,PubMed, and Medline are all organized with thesauri to efficiently find relevant information.

In the previous examples, CINAHL's Subject Headings lookup will recommend (MH "Adolescence"), and (MH "Myocardial Infarction"), respectively, where MH stands for major heading.  Preferred terminology has been assigned to all searchable article records in the form of subject headings.  Despite what synonymous terminology was used by the author(s), all articles concerning people between the ages of 13 and 18 should have (MH "Adolescence") assigned to it.  Using the preferred terminology provides searchers the best single strategy for comprehensive searching.

Potential CINAHL Ultimate Searches

The following CINAHL Ultimate searches will take you into CINAHL in a new browser window.  If you have not already logged in, you will be asked for your NKU log in information.  Each of these searches will gather all of the items that have been assigned the corresponding CINAHL Subject Heading as a major heading.  You may want to apply additional terms, or limits to your search.

• (MH "Nursing Models, Theoretical")
  • (MH "Benner's Professional Advancement Model")
  • (MH "Corbin and Strauss Chronic Illness Trajectory Framework")
  • (MH "Cox Interaction Model of Client Health Behavior")
  • (MH "Gordon's Functional Health Patterns")
  • (MH "Henderson Nursing Model")
  • (MH "Johnson Behavioral System Model)
  • (MH "King's Theory of Goal Attainment")
  • (MH "King Open Systems Model")
  • (MH "Leininger's Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality")
  • (MH "Leventhal and Johnson's Theory of Self-Regulation")
  • (MH "Levine Conservation Model")
  • (MH " Marker Nursing Model")
  • (MH "Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Theory")
  • (MH "Neuman Systems Model")
  • (MH "Newman Health Model")
  • (MH "Nightingale's Nursing Theory")
  • (MH "Orem Self-Care Model")
  • (MH "Orlando's Theory of the Deliberative Nursing Process")
  • (MH "Parse's Theory of Human Becoming")
  • (MH "Paterson and Zderad's Theory of Humanistic Nursing")
  • (MH "Pender Health Promotion Model")
  • (MH "Peplau Interpersonal Relations Model")
  • (MH "Rogers Science of Unitary Human Beings")
  • (MH "Roper's Activities of Living Model")
  • (MH "Roy Adaptation Model")
  • (MH "Rubin's Theory of Maternal Identity")
  • (MH "Synergy Model")
  • (MH "Travelbee Interpersonal Theory")
  • (MH "Watson's Theory of Caring")
  • (MH "Wiedenbach's Theory")

Potential Pubmed Searches

The following Pubmed searches will take you into Pubmed in a new browser window.  Each of these searches will gather all of the items that have been assigned the corresponding MeSH (Medical Subject Heading) as a major heading.  You may want to apply additional terms, or limits to your search.

• "Nursing Theory"[MAJR]
• "Models, Nursing"[MAJR]

Looking for more relevant databases? Check out our list of nursing and allied health databases.