Dept of Health Library: Department of Health Library: Grey Literature

Grey Literature

The Fourth International Conference on Grey Literature (GL '99) in Washington, DC, in October 1999 defined grey literature as follows: "That which is produced on all levels of government, academics, business and industry in print and electronic formats, but which is not controlled by commercial publishers."
Be aware the word grey can also be spelt as "gray". You will need to look for either spelling when searching for "Grey Literature".

Examples of grey literature include:

Reports
Discussion papers
Briefings
Guides
Data sets
Conference papers
Submissions
Evaluations
Working papers
Theses
Blogs & social media
Procedures & policies

Australian

Analysis and Policy Observatory
(Formerly Australian Policy Online) A research database and alert service providing free access to full text research reports and papers, statistics and other resources essential for public policy development and implementation in Australia and New Zealand.
Australasian Open Access Repositories The Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) maintain a list of repository contacts for repositories in Australian and New Zealand universities.
Australia Department of Health and Aged Care A listing of publications, sorted by A-Z and topics, on the Australian Government Department of Health websites.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) The ABS is Australia’s national statistical agency, providing trusted official statistics on a wide range of economic, social, population and environmental matters of importance to Australia.
Australian Digital Health Agency Initiatives and programs: Includes My Health Record, Electronic prescriptions, Telehealth, Cybersecurity and National Digital Health Strategy.
Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet
A 'one-stop info-shop' that aims to contribute to 'closing the gap' in health between Indigenous and other Australians by providing the evidence base to inform practice and policy in Indigenous health. Kurongkurl Katitjin, Centre for Indigenous Australian Education and Research, Edith Cowan University
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW)
Australian statistics covering such areas as chronic disease, hospitals, cancer, drugs and alcohol
Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) Resource Hub The Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) is building Australia’s research data infrastructure. We provide Australian researchers with access to national research data collections, cloud computing, platforms and data-intensive research skills training.
CareSearch palliative care knowledge network CareSearch is an online resource designed to help those needing relevant and trustworthy information and resources about palliative care.
CSIRO - Health and Medical We're working to prevent illnesses, develop a better understanding of diseases, and improve detection, treatment and recovery in a range of medical conditions to help people live healthier lives.
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is Australia’s leading expert body promoting the development and maintenance of public and individual health standards.
Queensland Government Data Portal - (Queensland Health) Data sets from Queensland Health
Queensland Health - Research and Reports Queensland Health oversees the management of clinical trials across the state and this section outlines the ethics and governance processes that guide these projects. You can also access reports and data here from the annual reports to the Chief Health Officer report and a range of epidemiology reports. Some information is also made available via the Queensland government’s open data portal.
The Sax Institute Resource Hub We are an independent, not-for-profit organisation registered as an Australian charity that improves health and wellbeing by driving better use of evidence in policies, programs, and services.
Telethon Kids Institute - Research We are an independent medical research institute based in Perth, Western Australia and affiliated with the State's major universities. Our researchers are searching for answers to improve the health and wellbeing of children and families affected by some of the most devastating, complex and common diseases and issues.
Trove Trove helps you find and use resources relating to Australia. It's more than a search engine. Trove brings together content from libraries, museums, archives, repositories and other research and collecting organisations big and small.

International

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRC) The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is the lead Federal agency charged with improving the safety and quality of America's health care system. AHRQ develops the knowledge, tools, and data needed to improve the health care system and help Americans, health care professionals, and policymakers make informed health decisions.
Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS)
The Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS) is a policy design and implementation partner devoted to improving outcomes for people enrolled in Medicaid.
Climate change and human health literature portal (NIH.gov) An integrated, curated bibliographic database of global peer-reviewed research and gray literature on the science of climate impacts on human health. Produced by National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
The George Institute for Global Health
A global world class non-profit medical research institute estabilshed in headquarted in Sydney and affiliated with The University of Sydney, Oxford University & Peking University Health Science Center - Conference papers & proceedings, journal articles & academic reports
Health Systems Evidence Health Systems Evidence is a continuously updated repository of syntheses of research evidence about governance, financial and delivery arrangements within health systems, and about implementation strategies that can support change in health systems.
ISRCTN Registry The ISRCTN registry is a primary clinical trial registry recognised by WHO and ICMJE that accepts all clinical research studies (whether proposed, ongoing or completed), providing content validation and curation and the unique identification number necessary for publication. All study records in the database are freely accessible and searchable.
The King's Fund
The King's Fund is an independent charity working to improve health and care in England. Our vision is that the best possible health and care is available to all.
Mednar Mednar is a free, medically-focused deep web search engine that uses Explorit Everywhere!, an advanced search technology by Deep Web Technologies. As an alternative to Google, Mednar accelerates your research with a search of authoritative public and deep web resources, returning the most relevant results to one easily navigable page.
OAlster OAIster is a union catalog of millions of records that represent open access resources. OAIster includes more than 50 million records from more than 1,100 contributors. Digital resources include digitized books and articles; born-digital texts; audio files; images; movies; datasets.
OpenDOAR OpenDOAR is the quality-assured, global Directory of Open Access Repositories. You can search and browse through thousands of registered repositories based on a range of features, such as location, software or type of material held.
Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) Publications from OECD
Social Care Online Social Care Online is the UK's largest online database of information on all aspects of social work and social care. It includes legislation, government documents, practice and guidance, systematic reviews, research briefings, UK grey (informally-published) literature, reports, and journal articles. The database contains over 160,000 records from the 1980s to 2023.
UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research publishes dozens of reports, policy briefs, fact sheets and data every year on a wide range of health policy issues.
World Health Organization (WHO) Publications produced by WHO. WHO is an organization of 194 Member States. The Member States elect the Director-General, who leads the organization in achieving its global health goals

Articles that discuss the value of grey literature for the fields of health policy and management

Resources

Finding the Hard to Finds: Searching for Grey Literature – 2012 Update

AACODS checklist for the evaluation and critical appraisal of grey literature
Grey Matters: A practical tool for searching health-related grey literature (2019)
Produced by the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH)
PUBGREY

Further Reading

Department of Health Library: Grey Literature

Grey Literature

Grey Literature Gallery

State of VAD: voluntary assisted dying in Australia & New Zealand. Annual snapshot report by Go Gentle Australia. October 2024

COVID-19 Response Inquiry report by Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Australia). October 2024

Australia's health tracker: chronic conditions by socioeconomic status. A brief report card by Australian Health Policy Collaboration, Victoria University October 2024

2024 public hospital report card: mental health edition. Report by Australian Medical Association. October 2024

Unleashing the potential of our health workforce: Scope of practice review by Department of Health and Aged Care (Australia). October 2024

Impact of Climate Change on Health and Drug Demand - a report by RAND Corp. October 2024

The role of managers in creating mentally healthy workplaces: a practical guide - National Mental Health Commission (Australia) September 2024

Accelerating access to the best medicines for Australians now and into the future - Dept of Health and Aged Care September 2024

Applying behavioural and cultural insights to health-related policies, services and communication: case examples. WHO - 2023.

Advice on open access models: Unlocking knowledge for national benefit by Office of the Chief Scientist - August 2024

Cultural safety in Australia: discussion paper by Lowitja Institute - September 2024

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework: summary report August 2024 from AIHW

Youth mental health and social media joint position statement from Prevention United

Navigating new horizons: A global foresight report on planetary health and human wellbeing. UN Report July 2024

Too close to home: how we keep communities safer from escalating climate impacts. Emergency Leaders for Climate Action, Climate Council Report June 2024.

Australia's health 2024: in brief - AIHW Report July 2024.

A public Australian, AI report May 2024 - by Jordan Guiao of Per Capita.

CSIRO - AI trends for healthcare

Draft National Autism Strategy 2024

National Digital Health Strategy 2023 - 2028

National policy roadmap for artificial intelligence in healthcare