On September 22, a Window of Knowledge was launched in the context of the work of the VHL Nursing. In a virtual session for Latin America and the Caribbean, the Window of Knowledge Nursing Workforce in Latin America and the Caribbean was launched, which took place within the framework of Florence Nightingale’s bicentenary and the celebration of the International Year of Nursing, which aims at highlighting and systematize the scientific output on the nursing workforce in the Region. The showcase includes nursing interventions; nursing and global health; nursing education; infometrics; innovations and technologies; the role of students and other emerging issues, such as the response to the pandemic COVID-19 and nursing numbers in Latin America.
The Window of Knowledge is the result of the workforce of the International Nursing Network, the Advisory Committee of the Nursing International Virtual Health Library and the Escola de Enfermagem da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization/ World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) through the Latin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information (BIREME)
The launching session was moderated by Francisco Lana, professor at the School of Nursing of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG) and coordinator of the Nursing VHL. The presentation dynamic of the Window of Knowledge relied on the participation of Diego González, Director of BIREME who congratulated everyone for the collaborative work that allowed the construction of this information product that uses a methodology developed by BIREME.
VerĂ´nica Abdala, Manager of Information Sources at BIREME, described the methodology for building the Window of Knowledge, showing the stages of its construction, from the definition of the theme, the organization and identification of the content, the creation of its visual identity (layout), until its publication and wide dissemination.
Then, Mariana Santos Felisbino Mendes, professor at the Nursing School of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais and coordinator of this work, presented the Window of Knowledge and the process of its construction, which was done by working groups made up by several nursing professionals.
The sections that make up the Window of Knowledge were presented by each professional responsible for the working groups, namely: History of Nursing, by Maria Itayra Padilha; Nursing Education, by Marta Lenise do Prado; Nursing work, by VirgĂnia Ramos; Showcase on Nursing and COVID-19, by Allana CorrĂŞa; BDENF Infometrics, by Luciana Kalinke and Student Protagonism by Nursing, by Elton Sady. Each content presented was developed using methodologies to build what would be included in the Window of Knowledge. Next, the methodology of each working group and the construction of search strategies were presented.
In the launching session there was space for some relevant actors in the Latin American nursing scene to speak about their view and many of them are part of the Nursing Network, such as Olivia Sanhueza Alvarado, president of the Latin American Association of Schools and Colleges of Nursing – ALADEFE, Maria Cristina Cometto from the International Nursing Networks, Isabel AmĂ©lia Costa Mendes, coordinator of Nursing Now Brazil, Sonia Soares, director of the UFMG School of Nursing, Erika Caballero, from the International Nursing Council/Representation of Latin America and the Caribbean/ UCSH School of Nursing.
The launching was broadcasted on the VHL Network’s YouTube channel, available at: https://youtu.be/beKsn4Mdsww
For more details on the construction of the Window of Knowledge and the methodologies used for the content presented, access the Terms of Reference. This initiative is a partnership between the Ministry of Health of Brazil and BIREME/PAHO/WHO.
 
The Window of Knowledge is a resource of the Virtual Health Library (VHL) developed by BIREME that aims at giving visibility and access to the main documents and other information sources on a priority health topic. Learn more about the process of creating the Window of Knowledge [1]. The VHL Regional Portal  makes available its collection of Windows of Knowledge. Among them, it is worth mentioning the Covid-19 Window of Knowledge, available in three languages.
[1] Windows of Knowledge – A new concept for highlighting health information on the VHL. BIREME Bulletin n° 31. Available from https://boletin.bireme.org/en/2019/04/28/knowledge-showcases-a-new-concept-for-highlighting-health-information-on-the-vhl/