Dear HIFA colleagues,
I would like to share the translation of a message on our Spanish-language forum, HIFA-Spanish, from Jackeline Alger (Honduras), currently the lead moderator of HIFA-Spanish. She has no doubt that open access ultimately saves lives.
I think it is worth noting that Latin America is a world pioneer in open access, thanks to SciELO and Virtual Health Library due to the efforts of Abel Packer and others since the 1990s. (Abel was a co-author with me and others of the 2004 Lancet paper 'Can we achieve health information for all by 2015?)
==
The experience of the Parasitology Service of the Hospital Escuela in Tegucigalpa illustrates how open access to scientific information can have a direct impact on people's health and lives. For more than two decades, the laboratory team has used the resources of the Virtual Health Library of Honduras (VHL HN) to access updated evidence, review diagnostic procedures and guide clinical staff in the identification of parasitic diseases.
Thanks to this availability of reliable and freely accessible information, it has been possible to improve diagnostic accuracy, update training materials and strengthen evidence-based clinical decision making. In contexts where resources are limited, this open access translates into more timely diagnoses, more accurate treatments and, ultimately, saved lives.
Therefore, we can affirm that open access to research saves lives—not only because of the great discoveries it disseminates, but because of the possibility that each health professional, from their local environment, has the necessary tools to offer quality care, supported by the best available evidence.
The following official links, which document the work of the Virtual Health Library of Honduras (BVS HN) and its relationship with the Teaching Hospital:
Virtual Health Library of Honduras (VHL HN):
https://honduras.bvsalud.org/es/
Network of Virtual Health Libraries (VHL) – PAHO/WHO and BIREME:
https://bvsalud.org/es/rede-bvs/
Reference on the creation of the BVS HN (Faculty of Medical Sciences Magazine, 2015):
https://www.bvs.hn/RFCM/pdf/2015/pdf/RFCMVol12-2-2015.pdf
HIFA profile: Jackeline Alger, MD, PhD, is a parasitologist associated to the Department of Clinical Laboratory of the University Hospital; Executive Director of the Antonio Vidal Institute for Infectious Diseases and Parasitology; Tegucigalpa, Honduras. HIFA Country Representative of the Year for the years 2015 and 2018. Email jackelinealger AT gmail.com
Why did I join HIFA? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NZ-U5Wv9FU
==
Best wishes, Neil