Dear EVIDENCE-BASED-HEALTH colleagues,
I would like to invite you to join a virtual
discussion on HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), starting Monday 20th July.
Best wishes, Neil Pakenham-Walsh, HIFA
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Read online:
http://www.hifa2015.org/meeting-the-information-needs-of-researchers-and-users-of-health-research-2/
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Dear colleagues,
We are delighted to announce a major new thematic
email discussion on the global forum HIFA (20
July to 24 August) to explore how to meet the
information needs of researchers and users of
research in low and middle income countries. This
Healthcare Information For All discussion is
being held in collaboration with APAME
[www.wpro.who.int/apame/en/], COHRED
[http://www.cohred.org/], and with support from
The Lancet [http://www.thelancet.com] in the
run-up to the Forum 2015, the Global Forum on
Research and Innovation for Health, Manila, 24-27
August 2015 [http://www.forum2015.org/], held in
conjunction with the Asia Pacific Association of
Medical Journal Editors 2015 Annual Convention,
Manila, 25-26 August 2015 [http://apame2015.healthresearch.ph].
WHY IS ACCESS TO RESEARCH IMPORTANT?
The WHO Constitution 'enshrines the highest
attainable standard of health as a fundamental
right of every human being. The right to health
includes access to timely, acceptable, and
affordable health care of appropriate quality …
as well as the underlying determiinants of
health, such as … access to health-related eduucation and information.'
Increasing the availability of health research is
fundamental to global health and the progressive
realisation of the right to health.
Researchers, policymakers, health professionals,
and citizens need access to the full text of
peer-reviewed research, relevant to their
context, and in a language they can understand.
"Access to research" here refers to the ability
of individuals to find, retrieve and understand
primary and secondary research, as well as
analysis and commentary on such research.
(Primary research involves the collection of
original data, while secondary research involves
the synthesis of previous research, as in systematic reviews.)
CURRENT ACCESS: DRIVERS AND BARRIERS
There is a growing momentum towards free (and
open) access to research. Also, in the past 15
years there have been several important
initiatives such as HINARI, eIFL, INASP, AJOL and
the WHO Global Health Library, all of which help
to improve the availability of health research.
The trends are positive, but there are many
limitations and exclusions. There is a long way
to go before all, or even the majority, of health
research is freely available to all those who need it.
WHAT CAN BE DONE TO ACCELERATE PROGRESS?
How can health research from LMICs be made more visible and accessible?
What more can be done to make research freely available to users in LMICs?
How can research be made available in the right language?
These and other questions will be explored on the HIFA forum.
The key points from all discussions will be
presented at a Special Session on Access to
Research at Forum 2015, organised by APAME, on 26
August, and will be taken into consideration for
any declarations that may emerge from the conference.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We are grateful to The Lancet, COHRED, and APAME
for supporting this discussion. We are also
grateful to Elsevier, The Lancet and mPowering
Frontline Health Workers for their ongoing
support for the HIFA Voices database
(hifavoices.org), where key points from the discussion will be collated.
Best wishes,
Joey Florencio F. Lapena (President, APAME)
Neil Pakenham-Walsh (Coordinator, HIFA)
HIFA profile: Jose Florencio F Lapena Jr. is
President of the Asia Pacific Association of
Medical Journal Editors and President of the
Philippine Association of Medical Journal
Editors. Professional interests: Journalology,
Medical Writing, Editing and Reviews, Medical
Education and Mentoring, Pediatric
Otorhinolaryngology, Head, Neck, Cleft and
Craniofacial Surgery. lapenajf AT upm.edu.ph
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is the
coordinator of the HIFA campaign (Healthcare
Information For All) and co-director of the
Global Healthcare Information Network. He is also
currently chair of the Dgroups Foundation
(www.dgroups.info), a partnership of
international development organisations promoting
dialogue for international health and
development. neil.pakenham-walsh AT ghi-net.org
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