BIREME/PAHO/WHO: networking with the countries of the Region

The presence of BIREME in Latin America and the Caribbean has traditionally been marked by the instances of the Virtual Health Library (VHL), which is present in over 30 countries. Dr Diego González Machín, Director of BIREME, continues to drive forward the technical cooperation actions of BIREME at national and regional levels, by means of joint activities conducted with PAHO/WHO Offices and the countries’ National institutions in the Region, starting in Colombia, Panama and Mexico. The joint work was also carried out in an official mission to Washington D.C., US, at the PAHO/WHO HQ.

Health Scholarly Communication in the Region

Scholarly communication, as science itself, evolves rapidly and it is necessary to follow and understand such changes. In this regard, the Office of the Assistant Director of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO / WHO) through its bodies BIREME and Library and Information Networks, both from the Area of Knowledge Management, Bioethics and Research (KBR) train researchers, health professionals, decision makers and students in current topics of scientific communication and writing through face-to-face courses in the Latin American and Caribbean region.

Brazil Telehealth Program for Primary Health Care

Since 2007, in the early days of the Brazil Telehealth Program, BIREME/PAHO/WHO has been cooperating with the Ministry of Health to promote and facilitate the use of scientific knowledge in Primary Health Care (PHC) through Telehealth services. The program addresses relevant topics to PHC and it is designed to clear up doubts and meet the needs of other healthcare professionals, aiming to enhance the resolution capacity in similar cases or situations. It is a knowledge translation initiative, also applied to the São Paulo City Networks Telehealth Program.

Nursing VHL has international amplitude

The Nursing Virtual Health Library (Nursing VHL, http://bvsenfermeria.bvsalud.org/) has been developed in a decentralized manner, with the participation of institutions from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, and Uruguay. Its primary objective is to drive the processes of knowledge generation and dissemination, helping to improve nursing education and practice to achieve ethical and social commitment in education, research and healthcare.

BIREME and the alliance with Brazilian universities

The 16th edition of Rede Brasileira de Informação em Saúde meeting was held in October, during the 19th Seminario Nacional de Bibliotecas Universitarias (SNBU), in Manaus, AM. The meeting, organized by BIREME/PAHO/WHO together with the Coordenação Geral de Documentação e Informação da Secretaria Executiva do Ministério da Saúde (CGDI/SE/MS), aimed to present the new developments that will certainly strengthen the collaborative work and expand visibility and use of health information, in addition to presenting to the participants the products and services provided by BIREME regarding health information.

Staff development and organizational climate

The learning actions for continued development of competences for BIREME staff have been fostered by its Director, Dr Diego González Machín, since July 2016, when he took office ofthe Center. The primary goal is to have a better working environment and organizational climate, required to improve the technical cooperation and management of BIREME, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2017.