The joint work developed by PAHO/WHO Brazil and BIREME/PAHO/WHO in the major public health events in the country is an opportunity to fulfill the mission of democratizing health information, and reporting the Center´s activities of delivering scientific and technical information in health to end-users. Two recent events for professionals of the Brazilian National Health System (SUS) and Municipal Health Secretaries highlighted the work of BIREME in the cities.
Author: Lilian Callo
Working with Key Countries: a priority for BIREME
The National and Sub-regional Coordination Office of PAHO/WHO promotes effective technical cooperation for a group of countries that the Member States of the Organization identified as deserving special attention to reach their individual and collective objectives of health development – the so-called Key Countries. A meeting in Washington DC, in July 2017, had the goal of reviewing and defining the actions, interventions, criteria and indicators to implement the operational plan for the Key Country Strategy.
CARPHA EvIDeNCe and MEDCARIB stood out in events in Trinidad & Tobago
BIREME participated at the “Regional consultation to develop a knowledge sharing mechanism for non-communicable diseases and vector borne diseases for CARPHA Member States”. The event was attended by representatives of the English-speaking Caribbean countries and held in Trinidad & Tobago. On the occasion, there was also a workshop at the University of the West Indies (UWI) with the aim of revitalizing the database MEDCARIB. These actions are within the context of the project between BIREME and CARPHA for the development of CARPHA EvIDeNCe Portal.
Formal Regional Consultation 2017 on IHR takes place in São Paulo, Brazil
The Formal Regional Consultation about the International Health Regulations (IHR) was conducted from July 17th to 19th in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The event was coordinated by the PAHO Preparedness for Health Emergencies Program (PHE), under the leadership of Dr Ciro Ugarte and Dr Roberta Andraghetti, in coordination with PAHO/WHO Brazil, and had the support of BIREME in the local organization. More than 80 specialists attended, representing 30 Member Countries of the Organization.
BIREME and PANAFTOSA, PAHO/WHO Specialized Centers, strengthen joint technical cooperation
The visit of BIREME Director, Dr Diego González, to the Pan-American Foot and Mouth Disease Center (PANAFTOSA) in Rio de Janeiro, RJ, aimed to strengthen the joint work between PAHO/WHO Specialized Centers located in Brazil that work at regional level. Management of information and scientific and technical knowledge in zoonoses and food-transmitted diseases were also addressed during the visit.
BIREME takes part in event promoted by FIOCRUZ about scientific evidence
BIREME’s participation in GRADE-CERQual workshop organized by FIOCRUZ office in Brasilia opens the opportunity to expand knowledge on how this methodology can be used in the projects and activities to promote the use of evidence in decision-making in health, such as the networks REBRATS, EVIPNet, and Evidence-informed Policies.
BIREME launches video to celebrate its 50 years
BIREME is launching a video that highlights its historical landmarks, main products and services, and its cooperative and network activities to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The video is an important information source about BIREME and was designed to be shared online as well as in events, meetings, presentations, training courses, and in other occasions worth sharing a brief, but thorough view about BIREME and its trajectory towards democratization of health information.
ACURIL 2017 highlights the 50 years of BIREME
Representatives of the Virtual Health Library (VHL) from the Caribbean countries present at the Conferencia Anual de la Asociación de Bibliotecas Universitarias, de Investigación e Institucionales del Caribe (ACURIL 2017) gathered in order to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Center and the role played by BIREME in the dissemination of health information through the VHL.
The role of DeCS in democratizing access to health information
DeCS is a controlled and structured vocabulary in health in English, Portuguese and Spanish. BIREME is responsible for the translation into Portuguese and the review of the Spanish translation, together with the Facultad de Medicina de la Universidad de Chile (for Latin American and Caribbean Spanish) and with the Biblioteca Nacional de Ciencias de la Salud del Instituto de Salud Carlos III (for European Spanish). It also makes hierarchical modifications of MeSH and organizes its terms. Since 2016, BIREME has enabled searches in the VHL with MeSH terms in French due to its translation by the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (Inserm).
Advanced workshop on search strategies building
In order to train the Network of Reference Professionals of the Virtual Health Library and other specialists on building search strategies, BIREME and Instituto Nacional do Câncer (INCA) organized the 1st Advanced Workshop Search Strategies on Health Information. The workshop was held on the framework of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of BIREME and the 80th anniversary of INCA. The initiative is one of the cooperation projects established with the Brazilian Ministry of Health.