Background and Context:
The Virtual Health Library (VHL) is a space for integration of information sources collectively produced and organized into geographic, thematic, biographical or institutional instances.
Aim:
The creation of the VHL Prevention and Cancer Control aims at developing an open and collaborative space for the management of scientific and technical information regarding this subject. Information sources offer subsidies to managers and health professionals in decision making, training and public policy formulation.
Strategy/Tactics:
Aiming at promoting knowledge management in the area of cancer control in Brazil, the Ministry of Health created within its institutional VHL, a thematic area dedicated to it. However, the project met greater proportions and it became essential to develop a thematic VHL instance on prevention and cancer control which could function as a national information reference.
Programme/Policy Process:
Once a VHL develops its activities through a cooperative network of institutions which are users and producers of information, it was essential to structure such a network within the field of cancer control and develop a governance model that could allow its sustainable operation. The model is composed of Executive Secretary, Advisory Committee, Executive Committee and Responsibility Matrix. The institutions which are part of this collaborative network have been selected in order to represent the regional diversity present in Brazil and also the diverse profiles of institutions related to cancer control, such as research, academia, government, scientific societies and organizations representing patients.
Outcomes/What was learned:
The development of VHL Prevention and Control of Cancer has been a success and the institutions that are part of the collaborative network are enriching the library databases with its scientific production. The experience of VHL Prevention and Cancer Control shows that having governance structures clearly defined from the beginning facilitates the collaborative work.