EMPHASIS on research activity, especially in the health sector, was upped a notch, yesterday at the University of Guyana’s Learning Resource Centre, with a workshop aimed at training 28 stakeholders in the use of Health Inter-Networks Access to Research Initiative (HINARI).
And Health Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, stressed that while HINARI has been operating locally, it is not being used optimally to advance improvements in the overall health sector. The workshop, in support of advancement, is an initiative made possible through a partnership between the University of Guyana (UG) and the Pan American Health Organisation/ Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO/ WHO).
Ramsammy noted that access and sharing of knowledge has been improved in an unprecedented manner.
In this context, he reiterated his call for optimal use of HINARI to support local research undertaking.
He made it clear that with the wider introduction of HINARI, no public health stakeholder, linked in any way to research, has a legitimate excuse to not pursue research initiatives.

Research a Must
The minister pointed out that WHO a few years ago reached a consensus with countries which promised to allocate two per cent of their annual health budget to research.
That has not happened on the level expected, but Ramsammy said Guyana currently spends 0.35 per cent of its health budget on research – an achievement for a small developing country with resource constraints and where health care is provided free of cost.
He lamented that no country will make any move to reaching the targets and attaining the goals it sets to improve health without an emphasis on research.
Ramsammy referred to the introduction of curare into anesthesia during the early 1940s – a result of research done by a developing country.
“Research is a public good, not a privilege for the countries with means,” he said.
According to him, the benefits of research are enormous and Guyana is falling short, even with the progress made off a small investment.
“We use research in an applied way, which informs policies and informs our actions in public health development,” he said.
Ramsammy maintained that research is a must if Guyana is to develop and improve the delivery of health care to the Guyanese people.
Recognizing the need for research, he challenged UG to increase its work in this regard.
He explained that as the country’s main tertiary level institution, it should play a lead role in setting the trajectory for research development.

Eclipsed
According to him, UG has been eclipsed by Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), in particular the GPHC Institute of Health Science Education.
Ramsammy stated that there has been a move to build the work of GPHC on the pillar of research, something becoming routine for practitioners there.
He stated that every intern now has to produce a research paper before he graduates.
“We are building a rich source,” the Health Minister said.
In November last, the Institute of Health Science Education held its third annual Medical Scientific Conference, bringing more into focus the important role of the scientific research community.
The theme was ‘Bringing Research to the Bedside through Evidence-Based Practice’ and the Coordinator and Director of Medical Services, Dr. Madan Rambaran, told the Guyana Chronicle that Guyana is getting closer to the production of its own medical journal.
The scientific medical conference provided members of the medical community with a platform to address a critical component in the overall improvement of health care delivery.
However, Ramsammy acknowledged that there is room for more work.
“It is a fledging process…research must be a priority in the work we do,” he said, adding that Guyana is now ready to do more in-depth type of research.
His contention is that research gives us the answers to improve quality of life, not only for the current generation, but the next – which will be a delivery of the promise of better lives to the children of the world.
The minister maintained that development in partnership is a must and called the support of partnering agencies “an absolute prerequisite” if HINARI is to be institutionalised.
In that vein, he lauded the support of PAHO/WHO and noted that Guyana, over the years, has always had the best of the agencies in terms of technical support.
The facilitators of the workshop are Dr. Leonard Rhine, University of Florida Emeritus Librarian; and Dr. Daniel Dollar, Head of Collection Development and Management for the Cushing/ Whitney Library.
Additionally, the PAHO/ WHO Representative, Dr. Beverly Barnett, assured that her agency is committed to strengthening the capacity for knowledge management and communication.
These, she stressed, influence behaviour change which assists the improvement of general health outcomes.
Adding his bit too was the Health Sciences Faculty Dean, Dr. Emmanuel Cummings, who accepted the challenge thrown out by the Health Minister.
He noted that moving forward with the development of a research culture will see not only more research activities, but also peer reviews at the university level of work done by students to ensure that the material is scientifically supported and benefits a wide cross section of people.
The National HINARI training course is geared towards health personnel, medical libraries and researchers and the course consists of eight modules that encompass the basic skills required for the use and promotion of HINARI Gateway.
According to PAHO, HINARI was established to improve access to bio-medical and other health research and information critical to the improvement of health, especially in the developing world.
HINARI as a search engine tool can be used to access and download full text articles, link to full text citations and articles for research and receive e-mail alerts when new information or publications become available, among others benefits.
Currently, in Guyana, the institutions with access to HINARI include the National Library, hospitals, ministries, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Commonwealth Youth Programme, the Caribbean Centre, the PAHO/WHO Guyana Documentation Centre and UG.
HINARI was launched in 2002 and is managed by WHO.