VHL News Network

Global Health Library: WHO promotes a technical workshop at the BIREME

The GHL workshop was held on March 26 to 30, 2007, at BIREME/PAHO/WHO, and the program included a broad review of the main strategies, methodologies, standards and technologies adopted by and adjusted from the VHL model, which will be used at the GHL. Representatives of the WHO libraries and bibliographic systems and of its regional offices for Africa, America, the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Pacific attended the event. The responsibility for implementing the GHL at international levels will be shared by the WHO regional offices, based on the existing scientific information regional systems. Hence, the VHL will be the GHL regional forum for Latin America and the Caribbean. The event was the initial landmark of the GHL implementation plan. Similar events will be held in different regions throughout 2007
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Evidenced-based information in health: BIREME holds courses in Uruguay

BIREME/PAHO/WHO held two training courses on evidence-based health information search, emphasizing the sources of information of the VHL Cochrane Portal, on April 11-13, 2007, in the city of Montevideo, Uruguay. The activities to promote the VHL and train users for searching were organized by BIREME/PAHO/WHO together with the Comisión Honoraria de Lucha Contra el Cáncer (CHLCC), the Sindicato Médico del Uruguay (SMU), and supported by PAHO Representative in Uruguay. Besides practical exercises and interaction with search and browsing resources at the VHL Cochrane Portal, with special emphasis on systematic reviews database and controlled clinical trials, the courses gave an introduction to the concepts of evidence-based medicine and interpretation of meta-analysis graphs. Verônica Abdala, manager of the VHL Cooperative Information Services, represented BIREME on the courses
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Indicators on science internationalization was topic of a seminar by RICYT

The seminar "Design of a system of indicators to measure science and technology internationalization" was held at the Centro de Modelamiento Matemático da Universidad de Chile on March 26 and 27, 2007. Promoted by the RICYT, the seminar was coordinated by Jesus Sebastián (CINDOC) and Anna Maria Prat (CONICYT) and aimed to discuss and review the final version of the Manual of indicators on science and technology internationalization. The policies and fostering instruments, human resources, cooperation, funding flows and international diffusion and exploration of national capacities and of knowledge and technology produced were addressed. The indicators will inform the level of internationalization of science and technology systems. Regina Castro, Health Scientific Communication coordinator, represented the BIREME/PAHO/WHO
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Caratinga is the first Brazilian city to have a VHL Station

On the last week of March 2007, another VHL Station was opened in Caratinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil. It aims to broaden and strengthen informational and digital inclusion within the scope of the SUS by training and making access to scientific and technical information on health more democratic. Caratinga is the first Brazilian city to have a VHL Station. The opening ceremony was held at the UNEC auditorium also with the participation of local authorities and representatives of the supporting institutions. The program to implement VHL Stations is promoted and coordinated by the Ministry of Health with the collaboration of the BIREME/PAHO/WHO. There are 24 stations installed in Brazil
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Health legislation will have new portal at the VHL

The Health Policies and Health Systems Unit of the PAHO and BIREME/PAHO/WHO are developing in cooperation a new Health Legislation Portal at the VHL, following recommendations from the work group (WG) that met at BIREME, on February 26 and 27, 2007. The new Health Legislation Portal should be in full operation by the end of 2007, and will broaden access options, navigability and availability of contents on legislation, which will be organized and related to the LEYES referential database and international appointments. The LEYES database is produced cooperatively by the LEYES Network and operated at the VHL regional portal. Mônica Bolis, Regional Advisor on Health Legislation at the PAHO, promoted the WG meeting, which was attended by international experts. Luciano Duarte, supervisor of the VHL Referential Information Sources, assisted in the general coordination
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LILACS Brazil has five new journals

The development of the LILACS (Latin American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences) includes a periodic selection of new journals based on selection journals criteria. At least once a year a selection process takes place to include new journals in the database, in a decentralized way, within the scope of each Cooperation Network in each country. In Brazil, the last selection took place at the end of 2006, during the 7th Meeting of the Ad hoc Committee on LILACS Brazil Journal Selection. Twelve out of nineteen journals registered for the selection process were analyzed. One journal was selected for immediate inclusion and four were indicated to be indexed at LILACS after fulfilling the recommendations of the Committee. In the first trimester of 2007, the four journals implemented the recommendations and, therefore, have been included in LILACS
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