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Vol. LX, No. 1
January 11, 2008
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FIC Organizes Event to Launch Global-Theme Issue

FIC director Dr. Roger Glass welcomed guests to the CSE global-theme issue launch event.
FIC director Dr. Roger Glass welcomed guests to the CSE global-theme issue launch event.
CSE president Dr. Ana Marusic spoke of efforts to mobilize researchers to study global poverty and human development.
CSE president Dr. Ana Marusic spoke of efforts to mobilize researchers to study global poverty and human development.
In an effort to focus attention on global health, the Fogarty International Center recently joined with the Council of Science Editors (CSE) to promote its 2007 international theme issue on poverty and human development with an event on campus. FIC, in conjunction with the National Library of Medicine, hosted a symposium to coincide with the simultaneous publication of related research by more than 235 scientific journals in 37 countries. At least 1,000 articles were disseminated, representing research projects taking place in 85 nations.

“Without access to medical literature, without state-of-the-art knowledge, the practice of medicine and public health becomes woefully out-of-date,” said FIC director Dr. Roger Glass. “Having access to the most current knowledge can be lifesaving.” As part of the initiative, he coauthored an essay in the Journal of the American Medical Association titled, “Bridging the Coverage Gap in Global Health.”

Seven of the most outstanding articles from these journals addressing critical issues of global health research and policy were selected by a review committee of NIH and CSE experts for presentation at the conference. Two panels of international scientists presented new research examining interventions and projects to improve health and reduce health-care inequities among the poor. Subjects included: childbirth safety, HIV/AIDS, malaria treatment, food insufficiency and sexual behavior, interventions to improve child survival, physician brain drain from the developing world and influenza’s impact on children.

The scientific presentations were moderated by Dr. Catherine DeAngelis, editor-in-chief of JAMA and Dr. Fiona Godlee, editor-in-chief of the British Medical Journal; both journals also published global-theme issues.

“There was really a marvelous effort that CSE put in to mobilize the global community of researchers to study the issue of poverty as the greatest threat to human health and development worldwide,” said CSE president Dr. Ana Marusic, who is also editor-in-chief of the Croatian Medical Journal.

Two previous global-theme issues have been organized by the editors of JAMA. In January 1996, more than 200 articles on emerging and reemerging global microbial threats were published by 36 journals from 21 countries. In 1997, just under 100 journals in 31 countries published on the theme of aging.

“It is gratifying that the number of journals participating in the 2007 global health theme issue is more than double the number involved in a similar effort a decade ago,” said Betsy Humphreys, NLM deputy director. “This reflects progress in scientific journal publishing in the developing world, as well as increased recognition that global health disparities affect the well-being of all of us.” NIHRecord Icon

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