The database thus includes

• Published and unpublished literature, dating from 1850 to the present day, with no restriction on languages, although there is a bias towards the European languages (about 87% of entries are in English)
• Published literature includes journal articles (about 70%), books, reports, PhD theses, governmental policy documents and a range of other unconventional published literature
• Unpublished literature covers ongoing clinical trials and clinical studies, unpublished PhDs, and any other unconventional unpublished literature on the topic

Topics covered include, but are not restricted to

• Disease burden
• Pathogenesis & immunity
• Pharmacovigilance, safety & pharmacokinetics
• Case management
• Prevention
• Policy & implementation
• Economics
• Social science & Anthropolgy

Related Reference:

Van Eijk AM, Hill J, Povall S, Reynolds A, Wong H, Ter Kuile FO. The Malaria in Pregnancy Library: a bibliometric review. Malaria Journal 2012, 11: 362.

Sources of the records

Every four months a systematic search is conducted using a wide variety of websites (over 40 sources). These include PubMed, the Global Health Library, Google Scholar, Lilacs, Popline, Proquest, Web of Knowledge, WorldCat and registers of trials and studies. A full list of current sources is available here. Note that sources can change over time as websites can be merged or changed, or when new, useful databases and websites become available. Leading scientists working in the field of malaria in pregnancy were also contacted for information regarding ongoing clinical trials or PhD projects. Information on policy has been obtained through searching WHO websites and through Google searches.

Information available

Each record contains information relating to the correct bibliographic citation for that article type, including the author(s), the title of the article, and the name of the publication in which it can be located. Most records contain keywords, although these are not always consistent with the U.S. National Library of Medicine's MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) thesaurus, therefore the MiP Library does not offer full MeSH searching.

For ongoing trials, trial specific data are provided. These include the name(s) of the principle investigator(s); the primary funding agent; start and end dates; location; interventions; outcomes; study type.

Some references include links to full-text articles online. Access to online documents is not necessarily free and will depend upon the access rights of the user of the MiP Library. Visitors to the MiP Library from developing countries may be entitled to free or reduced-cost access to online articles through HINARI and BIREME.

You can find full instructions on searching the Malaria in Pregnancy Library under the tab “How to use the MiP library”.

History of the library

The Library was developed by the MiP Consortium’s Secretariat at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), UK, supported through a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) to LSTM. The library was first launched in 2007 and redeveloped in 2013. At the end of the MiP grant, the library was moved to the WWARN website at the University of Oxford as part of the LSTM/WWARN collaboration on Malaria in Pregnancy funded by BMGF, and continues to be maintained by Dr Annemieke van Eijk, LSTM (Anna.vanEijk@lstmed.ac.uk).