Honduras VHL renews its portal

Honduras develops and implements actions to strengthen the Network and renew the VHL national portal. The result of these actions was presented at the launch event of the new portal of the Honduras VHL. The event was held on May 12 in a hybrid manner in the National Medical Library of Honduras, with the participation of health authorities of the country, professionals from the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the National Autonomous University of Honduras, PAHO/WHO Honduras, the coordination of the International Nursing Network of the VHL and the BIREME/PAHO/WHO team.

HEARTS Initiative seeks to reduce cardiovascular disease in the Americas

Cardiovascular Diseases are the leading cause of death in the Americas, and arterial hypertension is responsible for more than 50% of them. To draw attention to this serious health problem, World Hypertension Day was established on May 17th. The WHO launched the Global HEARTS Initiative in 2016, and PAHO develops and coordinates the HEARTS Initiative in the Americas to, by 2025, become the institutionalized model for cardiovascular disease risk management.

World Health Day 2022: Our Planet, Our Health

World Health Day was celebrated last April 7, the date that marks the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization in 1948. Faced with the current pandemic of COVID-19, a planet with increasing pollution rates, and communicable and non-communicable diseases, the theme of this year’s World Health Day is “Our Planet, Our Health”. To provide scientific and technical information on health and environment, BIREME has produced a Window of Knowledge on this theme.

Virtual Health Library completes 24 years

The technical cooperation program of BIREME/PAHO/WHO is characterized by the Virtual Health Library (VHL), which in March 2022 completed 24 years of operation in the countries of the Region. Created in 1998, the VHL was motivated by the advent of the Internet, which enabled the operation of information sources via the Web, as well as their access by users. Thus, the VHL is consolidated as a virtual space for access scientific health information and evidence in Latin American and Caribbean countries.

Webinar on Scholarly communication for users of the Nicaragua VHL

In order to promote the publication of scientific research results and clinical observation in Nicaragua and to train participants in the main concepts that govern Scholarly communication in health sciences, a series of webinars on this topic was organized. The trainings are part of the Action Plan for the dissemination of the Nicaragua VHL, a project involving BIREME, PAHO/WHO Nicaragua, and UNAN Managua.

Methodological types of studies: indexing and validation of study type filters in the VHL

The search for reliable scientific information in the format and language needed for intervention through evidence-based policies and practices is particularly relevant in a pandemic scenario, when there is also much false information being disseminated. To facilitate and improve access to specific scientific documents, the coordinators of the LILACS Indexers Network and the Reference Network developed a joint action to create technical notes on indexing study types, methodology for validating search filters, and training for members of the LILACS and VHL networks.

VHL Information Sources are the subject of training sessions for LILACS and VHL Networks

BIREME/PAHO/WHO conducted training sessions for the Brazilian and Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Information Networks on the Information Sources of the Virtual Health Library (VHL), with the objective of improving the quality of the data inserted in the VHL bibliographic databases by professionals of the Cooperating Centers in Latin American and Caribbean countries.

Stepping up efforts and harnessing innovation to fight malaria

With the theme “Harnessing innovation to reduce the burden of malaria and save lives”, on World Malaria Day 2022, celebrated on April 25, PAHO/WHO calls on countries in the region to intensify efforts to combat malaria through evidence-based prevention, diagnosis, and treatment interventions adapted to local contexts. See also the Window of Knowledge on Malaria in the Americas developed by BIREME.

BIREME 55 years: commemorative activities

BIREME/PAHO/WHO celebrates its 55th anniversary in 2022 and, to mark this important date, which coincides with the year in which PAHO/WHO turns 120, a combined commemorative stamp was created, which is being applied to the graphic materials that will be used by BIREME throughout 2022 in official agendas and correspondence, PowerPoint presentations, email signatures and virtual meeting backgrounds.

Technical cooperation between BIREME and CGDI of the Ministry of Health continues to be strengthened

The meeting between the BIREME team, which was attended by the Director of the EIH Department of PAHO/WHO and the Interim Director of BIREME, Sebastián Garcia Saisó, and the General Coordinator of Documentation and Information (CGDI), Shirlei Rodrigues, and Sandra Cristina Teixeira, responsible for the Dissemination of Technical-Scientific Information in Health, both linked to the Undersecretariat for Administrative Affairs of the Executive Secretariat of the Ministry of Health (MS in its Brazilian acronym) of Brazil, aimed to report and validate the results programmed and achieved by the Center in the second semester of 2021, in the context of the 6th Adjustment Term to Cooperation Term 95 (TA6/TC95) and to progress activities of the Annual Work Plan (PTA) of the 9th Amendment to the TC95 (TA9/TC95).