PLoS/HIFA 2015 webinar: 'Can Open-Access Publishing Provide Health Care Information for All by 2015?'

We announce the first HIFA2015 Webinar, supported by PLoS, the Public Library of Science, a HIFA2015 Supporting Organisation and a leading publisher of open access journals.

Date and time: 28th March 2012 at 15:00-16:30h London/UK time (=14:00-15:30h GMT)
(To check the time in your country, please refer to the World Clock at http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html)

Programme:
1. Introduction: Neil Pakenham-Walsh (Coordinator, HIFA2015)
2. Open Access publishing and HIFA2015: Virginia Barbour (Chief Editor, PLoS Medicine)
3. Open discussion, including Commentary from systematic reviewers, researchers and health professionals in low- and middle-income countries.

Registration (free): Please send your name, position, organisation and country of residence to: webinars@hifa2015.org
Registration by 21st March is recommended (this will help us to prepare the webinar), but not mandatory - anyone can join the session directly on the day without prior registration.

For further information and programme updates please see http://www.hifa2015.org/hifa2015-webinars/ or contact webinars@hifa2015.org.

Technical instructions: Please see http://www.hifa2015.org/hifa2015-webinars/how-to-participate-plos-hifa2015-webinar-28-march-2012/ to prepare for the webinar.

Pre-webinar discussion:

Over the next two weeks, on the HIFA2015 e-mail forum, we shall explore the issues relating to open access publishing and healthcare information. For example:

1. MEETING INFORMATION NEEDS: Articles in Open Access journals are available free to anyone with an internet connection, and can be freely shared and reproduced. To what extent do current OA journals help healthcare providers (doctors, nurses, midwives etc.) to reduce suffering and save lives in low and middle-income countries (LMICs)? Do current OA journals provide the information healthcare providers need? Or, at the moment, are they only relevant to special groups such as researchers, development professionals, academics and high-level professionals?

2. WHERE THERE IS NO INTERNET: What about the vast majority of healthcare providers in LMICs, who do not have regular internet access? Do OA journals make any difference to them - perhaps indirectly, by allowing re-use? For example, printing and incorporation in teaching aids? What advantages (or disadvantages) do OA journals bring to those who are responsible for production of systematic reviews, for guideline development, and for production of reference and educational materials?

3. HOW CAN OPEN ACCESS PUBLISHING BE DEVELOPED FURTHER in the coming three years to help ensure that healthcare providers in LMICs will have access to the information they need to learn, to diagnose, to manage and prevent disease, and to save lives and reduce suffering? How can open access publishers work with healthcare providers to support a transition from information dependence to information autonomy and thereby contribute to overall sustainable economic development and enhanced quality of life in LMICs.

If you are not already a member, please join the forum at http://www.hifa2015.org/joinhifa/ to follow the discussions.

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About PLoS:

PLoS is a nonprofit publisher and advocacy organization. The mission of PLoS is to accelerate progress in science and medicine by leading a transformation in research communication. Everything that PLoS publishes is open-access ¬ freely available online for anyone to use. Sharing research encourages progress, from protecting the biodiversity of our planet to finding more effective treatments for diseases such as cancer.

About HIFA2015:

HIFA2015 (Healthcare Information For All by 2015) is a global campaign and knowledge network administered by the Global Healthcare Information Network, a non-profit organisation working to improve the quality of health care in developing countries. HIFA2015 is one of 5 global forums collectively known as HIFA Global Forums, bringing together more than 7500 health workers, librarians, publishers, researchers and policymakers in more than 2000 organisations across 163 countries worldwide, in 3 languages (English, French, Portuguese). One-third of our members are based in Africa, one-third in Europe, and one-third in the rest of the world. We are committed to a common goal: By 2015, every person worldwide will have access to an informed health care provider. Over 130 leading health and development organisations worldwide have declared their commitment to the HIFA2015 goal. Together we are working for a future where people are no longer dying for lack of basic healthcare knowledge. Further information: www.hifa2015.org

Follow HIFA2015 on twitter or send a tweet and let everyone know about the webinar: https://twitter.com/hifa2015

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