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BioMedCentral (BMC) (http://www.biomedcentral.com) is an online publisher of free peer-reviewed scientific articles in all areas of medical research and biology. Studies published in BMC are included in PubMed (Medline).

The CONSORT (http://www.consort-statement.org) statement: recommendations for improving the quality of reports of parallel group randomized trials.

British Medical Journal (BMJ) (http://www.bmj.com) General medical journal Website. Read the BMJ online and search the archive. Register for free electronic alerts of BMJ articles that match your interests.

Current Controlled Trials (http://www.controlled-trials.com) The metaRegister of Controlled Trials is a searchable, international database of ongoing randomized controlled trials in all areas of healthcare. At present, the mRCT also contains some completed trials. The mRCT offers free access to more than 10,000 records.

PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi) PubMed is the literature search service of the National Library of Medicine. It provides access to over 11 million MEDLINE citations back to the mid-1960's and additional life science journals. PubMed includes links to many sites providing full text articles and other related resources.

The Lancet. (http://www.thelancet.com) International journal of medical science and practice. Read the journal online and search the archive.

RESEARCH SYNTHESIS

Campbell Collaboration (http://www.campbellcollaboration.org) Campbell Collaboration (C2) is a non-profit organization that aims to help people make well-informed decisions about the effects of interventions in the social, behavioral and educational arenas.

Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (http://www.cebm.net/about.asp#review) Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine has been established in Oxford as the first of several centres around the United Kingdom, whose broad aim is to promote evidence-based health care and provide support and resources to anyone who wants to make use of them.

Clinical Evidence (http://www.evidence.org) Produced by the BMJ Publishing Group, Clinical Evidence is the international source of the best available evidence for effective healthcare. Free trial available online.

Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) group (http://www.epoc.uottawa.ca/) The focus of EPOC is reviews of interventions designed to improve professional practice and the delivery of effective health services. EPOC have conducted systematic reviews on continuing education interventions, quality assurance, informatics, and financial, organisational and regulatory interventions that can affect the ability of health care professionals to deliver services more effectively or efficiently.

Essential Medicines Library, WHO (http://www.who.int/medicines/default.shtml) Department of Essential Drugs and Medicines Policy (EDM), World Health Organization.

The Cochrane Collaboration (http://www.cochrane.org) Here you can find general information about the Cochrane Collaboration, its entities like the review groups, Cochrane Centres and information about conducting Cochrane systematic reviews. A useful feature is Review Titles Manager (http://www.cochrane.no/titles/) where you can check the titles, protocols and reviews registered.

The NHS Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) (http://www.phru.org.uk/~casp/index.htm) CASP offers workshops on systematic reviewing and critical appraisal. This site provides free access to downloadable learning resources and links to other UK based evidence based medicine sites.

The ScHARR Guide (http://www.shef.ac.uk/~scharr/ir/netting/) Netting the Evidence is intended to facilitate evidence-based healthcare by providing support and access to helpful organisations and useful learning resources, such as an evidence-based virtual library, software and journals. Always kept up to date.

York CRD (http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/crd) The NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) is based at the University of York. The CRD produces systematic reviews on selected topics and a database of good quality reviews. It provides a dissemination service and an information service, and helps to promote research based practice in the NHS. CRD is a sibling organisation of the UK Cochrane Centre.

DISSEMINATION

Better Births Initiative (http://www.liv.ac.uk/lstm/ehcap/BBI/bbimainpage.htm) The Better Births Initiative is a health provider targeted change package that aims to ensure that clinical policies and practices used in obstetric services are grounded in reliable research evidence. The Website provides details of package, including all the materials in downloadable (pdf) format.

Effective Health Care Alliance Programme (http://www.liv.ac.uk/lstm/ehcap/introduction.htm). The aim of EHCAP is better-informed decisions for health in low and middle-income countries. The grant includes support to the Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group and a range of research dissemination and implementation projects related to Cochrane systematic reviews in all areas of health care relevant to low and middle income countries. EHCAP is commissioned by the Department for International Development UK.

HINARI (http://www.healthinternetwork.org) The Health InterNetwork was created to bridge the "digital divide" in health, ensuring that relevant information - and the technologies to deliver it - are widely available and effectively used by health personnel: professionals, researchers and scientists, and policy makers.

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

A Guide to Effective Care in Pregnancy and Childbirth (http://www.maternitywise.org/guide/index_body.htm) Guide to Effective Care in Pregnancy and Childbirth is an overview of results of the best available research about effects of specific maternity practices. The full text of the current edition (Oxford University Press, 2000) is available on this website courtesy of the authors: Murray Enkin, Marc J.N.C. Keirse, James Neilson, Caroline Crowther, Lelia Duley, Ellen Hodnett and Justus Hofmeyr. A separate page provides information about this Guide.

Geneva Foundation for Medical Education and Research (http://www.gfmer.ch) The Geneva Foundation for Medical Education and Research is a non-profit organization established in 2002. It is supported by the Department of Health of the Canton of Geneva, the Faculty of Medicine, Geneva University and Geneva Medical Association, and works in close collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO).

PEP (http://www.pepcourse.co.za) The Perinatal Education Programme (PEP) is produced and distributed by the Perinatal Education Trust, a non-profit organization, which aims to improve the care of pregnant women and their newborn infants, especially in poor, rural communities.

Surgical care at the district hospital (http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2003/9241545755.pdf) A book published by WHO, describing surgical and anaesthetic procedures that are commonly performed at the district hospital level, including some common gynaecological procedures.