On December 5 and 6, 2024, the 31st Inter-Agency Workshop of the Inter-Agency Health Information Network (RIPSA, in its Portuguese acronym) was held in Brasilia. Held in the Carlyle Guerra Auditorium, at the office of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in Brazil, the event brought together presentations of recently developed products, with discussions on their development for 2025 planning.
The work was led by the RIPSA Technical Secretariat, represented on the occasion by Paulo Sellera, Director of the Department of Monitoring, Evaluation and Dissemination of Strategic Health Information (DEMAS) of the Ministry of Health (MS), Marizelia Leão, representing the National Council of Municipal Health Secretariats (Conasems), Felipe Ferré, representing the National Council of Health Secretaries (Conass) and Alexander Rosewell, representing PAHO Brazil. The event was attended by Ana Estela Haddad, Secretary of Information and Digital Health (SEIDIGI/MS), who acknowledged the dedication of the members and the success of the work achieved in this first year of resumed activities.
Throughout the two-day program, the Indicator Management Committees (CGI) shared the status of the development and updating of the indicators for 2024, as well as the progress of the qualification forms. Representing BIREME, librarian Juliana Sousa presented the new qualification forms portal, highlighting it as an essential tool for the organization and dissemination of health indicators. The new platform was developed by BIREME in partnership with DEMAS/MS and was praised by the participants for its strategic contribution to strengthening health policies in Brazil.
Portal improved with technology and quality
During her presentation, Juliana Sousa demonstrated in detail the development of the API and plugin that integrate the portal with the Indicator Management Module (MGDI) of the DEMAS system. This technological integration will make it possible to publish the qualification forms on the RIPSA portal, optimizing the process and ensuring greater efficiency.
Another highlight was the progress made in standardizing the qualification forms, which now include additional fields aimed at scientific publication and the description of digital content. Among the new elements are institutional authorship, DOI (Digital Object Identifier), translated title, references, citation guidelines, Creative Commons licenes and Research Organization Registry (ROR) identifiers. “This evolution reflects RIPSA’s commitment to the quality and standardization of information, in line with international best practices, ensuring greater accuracy and accessibility,” emphasized Juliana Sousa.
Next steps and planning for 2025
Besides the presentation, the workshop also provided space for strategic discussions on the Product Operational Planning (POP) for 2025. Among the proposals is the creation of an exclusive log-in space for RIPSA members, which will facilitate the collaborative development of documents and the sharing of materials in a secure environment.
With the final adjustments for publishing the portal in production, BIREME is reaffirming its role as a protagonist in the innovation of tools that support public health in Brazil and Latin America. It is expected that the advances and new resources will be presented at the 32nd Interagency Workshop, scheduled to be held in the first half of 2025.