Within the framework of the Plan for strengthening the Virtual Health Library on Public Health of Paraguay (VHL), with the presence of Sueli Suga, BIREME Supervisor for Referential Sources, and with the objective of diffusing/giving visibility and access to the scientific and technical production of the country through LILACS and the VHL, a series of strategic meetings were held on October 1-3, along with the indexation course for librarians and editors, according to the LILACS Methodology.
Considering that the quality of scientific and technical journals is essential for the advancement of health research in Paraguay, a meeting was held with editors of the journals indexed on the LILACS database, in order to review the compliance of the journals with the selection and permanence criteria on the LILACS database; the adequacy of this criteria to the reality of the country; adhesion of editors to the LILACS-Express initiative for the fast dissemination of their articles; and the construction of a committee of evaluation and selection of journals for LILACS.
Regarding the coordination of the Red de Información en Salud de Paraguay (REDISAL), responsible for the identification, selection and registration of scientific production in LILACS and for the national health database (BDNPAR), a review was made of the responsibilities of each area coordinator, based on the matrix of responsibilities, with the commitment of meeting monthly for the execution and follow up on planned actions.
The coordination was composed of an institutional group including: Instituto Nacional de Salud, Hospital Nacional de Itaguá, Sociedad Paraguaya de Pediatría, Universidad Católica and Laboratório Central de Salud Pública. Thus, the coordination of LILACS, BDNPAR were covered, as well as Training, Journals and Events, Internet Resources, Complete Texts and Marketing, always supported by the PAHO Representation in the country. Another important point in the meeting was the recognition of the quality of scientific and technical health production in Paraguay and the stimulation for researchers to publish in national journals. For this, the LILACS database was presented as one of the criteria that best qualify researchers and journals in the health field.
Many members of the Consejo de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT) participated in the meeting, as well as those of the Instituto Nacional de Salud, PAHO/WHO Paraguay and BIREME/PAHO/WHO. The perspective for this action is very positive, and it is expected that in the near future researchers will receive points for publishing in Paraguayan journals indexed on LILACS.
Finally, the course on document indexation for librarians and journal editors was a reference point for the new era of VHL Paraguay, representing the exchange and alliance between REDISAL and the editors of journals indexed on LILACS. Participants deepened their knowledge on all the necessary actions for scientific and technical production to be visible for the entire country, the Region of Latin America and the Caribbean, and the world. Forty-one professionals, 25 institutions and 11 scientific journals participated in the course.
According to Sueli Suga, “each one of these actions accomplished specific objectives and we hope that in the near future we will be able to see important results in the diffusion and visibility of scientific and technical production of Paraguay, with LILACS, BDNPAR and the VHL as the main catalysts and information channels for decision-makers in health”.
The activities undertaken in Paraguay, which is one of the key countries of the Pan American Health Organization, were highly recognized by the PAHO/WHO Representative in the country, Dr. Luis Roberto Escoto.