The next steps to advance with the initiative of a subregional Caribbean Virtual Health Library (VHL) were discussed during the two coordinated online meetings that occurred on November 9th, and 11th– 12th in coordination with BIREME/PAHO/WHO, PWR Guyana, MedCarib Network Coordination.
Between November 14th and 24th, the Instituto Nacional de Saúde, Coordinating Institution of the Mozambique Health Documentation Network (RDSM), held the Data Insertion and Validation Workshop on the Virtual Health Library (BVS) Mozambique platform. The objective of the workshop was, among others, to update the Mozambique VHL portal.
Bireme, in cooperation with the National Workshop of Social Determinants of Health, Equity and Health Promotion of the Technical Unit on Determinants of Health, Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental health of PAHO Brazil and a Working Group formed by more than 50 experts, which highlighted the general and transverse axes of the Commercial Dimension of Health subsidizing the thematic searches and the indication of reference documents indexed in the VHL databases, built a Window of Knowledge about the Commercial Dimension of the Social Determinants of Health.
Considering that the access and use of scientific evidence is essential to support decisions and interventions related to health, the workshop ‘Access and use of scientific information in health’ was held on November 16th for users of the Virtual Health Library (VHL) Nicaragua, organized by the PAHO/WHO Country Office in conjunction with the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua, in cooperation with BIREME
Health dates highlighted in the month of November, that integrate the PAHO/WHO calendar, are World Diabetes Day and World Toilet Day. BIREME has developed Windows of Knowledge to support the provision of scientific and technical information, as well as information for the public in infographic and video formats. Learn more about these features.
The tenth Session of the Advisory Committee of BIREME/PAHO/WHO, which took place virtually on October 7, 2021, had as its main objectives, once again, to hold the annual session and effectuate the exchange and communication with the members of the Committee; report on the progress of the Center’s management and technical cooperation activities, based on the recommendations made in 2020; and strengthen BIREME’s institutional framework in Brazil and with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Virtual Health Library of Nicaragua (Nicaragua VHL) was launched in an online/in presence event on October 26, promoted by the Vice Dean of Education, Directorate of the UNAN-Managua Library System in partnership with the PAHO Nicaragua Representation and had the participation of BIREME/PAHO/WHO. The initiative will contribute to increasing the availability and visibility of scientific and technical production in health in the country.
An article on MedCarib Database that BIREME contributed with has been recently published in the Caribbean Library Journal reporting and analyzing its main achievements and challenges, based on Trinidad and Tobago’s perspective. Trinidad and Tobago together with Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica and other English-speaking Caribbean countries participate on the strengthening and maintenance of MedCarib database.
On October 20, the 15th anniversary of the Virtual Health Library Network of Information and Knowledge (RIC VHL) was held via web conference. The RIC VHL is the result of the Technical-Scientific Information Management Project carried out in 2006 by the São Paulo State Department of Health (SES-SP) in partnership with BIREME/PAHO/WHO, with the objective of contributing to the strengthening of information and scientific and technical knowledge in health management in the state of São Paulo, using the VHL model.
The PAHO/WHO calendar of health dates is intended to save lives, increase the well-being and raise awareness about the main diseases that affect the populations of the Americas. BIREME offers specialized scientific and technical literature, selected from the databases that make up the VHL, on many of the health conditions listed in the calendar. Recently, new methodologies such as the Windows of Knowledge join the strategies developed by the Center to support the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of these diseases.