Editorial

Abstract

The Ministry of Health of the Buenos Aires province has shown a remarkable performance in the COVID-19 pandemic diagnose and control, dealing with both its social and biological aspects. It is in this context that the scientific evidence search, systematization and production have become an inevitable aspect of management.

The pandemic has revealed the gravity of the so called infodemia: the deliberate proliferation of fake news. This threat could even divert the attention of public-policymakers. This is why during and after the pandemic the identification of key actors and institutions has been intensified, in order to promote and strengthen alliances within an emerging scientific-technological network, with the aim to improve the health conditions of the community. These actors join with us in the construction of this initiative, which materializes today in the launch of the Salud Publica Journal. Its purpose is the dissemination of scientific production, the sharing of research results from various healthcare areas, and the presentation of academic, technical and outreach productions, especially those related to the Buenos Aires province.

Salud Publica is born from the need to broaden the scientific communication channels that the pandemic generated, leveraging the lessons learned, and deepening the dissemination and interchange. We seek to collaborate with diverse disciplines and push the frontiers of knowledge to enhance synergies in the context of translational health research. We want to provide a space where these productions can find their voice.

The Ministry of Health of the Buenos Aires province has implemented a series of policies and programs destined to foster scientific production and knowledge dissemination. Among these initiatives is the call for the Public Health “Julieta Lanteri” research scholarships, which offer financial support to health researches and professionals to carry out research projects in the mentioned field.

From the design and the implementation of the new investigation policy, the Ministry of Health of the Buenos Aires province promotes the creation of favorable environments and suitable tools to become a relevant actor in the healthcare systems and services research. This is done taking into account the comparative advantages that the largest and most complex healthcare service network in the country offers. This network is measured in terms of the number and complexity of its hospitals, its collaboration with hundreds of them and with thousands of municipal health centers, its relationship with the province healthcare insurance (IOMA) and PAMI, the quantity of beds available, the number of technicians and professionals working and/or training, its equipment and modernization that includes a vast joint system of digital medical records. This policy answers the needs and demands of a population of more than 17 million people, which allows to base their decision making at the macro,

meso, and micromanagement levels, from the analysis -and even meta-analysis- of aggregated data produced by the same services; it also allows to prioritize resources, technologies, and problems, and contribute substantially to improve the quality and warmth of attention and care.

With respect to training, the Ministry has implemented a research component within the different educational devices at the Floreal Ferrara School of Health Governance. In the same vein, over the past two years, the Scientific Conferences for Residents have been promoted as part of the Provincial Health Council (COSAPRO) to encourage active participation of our young professionals in research.

These initiatives are complemented with a wide range of courses and activities related to research methodology, including the Course on Good Clinical Practices and Investigation Ethics, as well as the Diploma on Teaching and Investigation Management. These programs are designed to train our healthcare professionals on the best practices in investigation and ethics, ensuring the quality and integrity of our projects and the training of trainers in teaching and research.

To promote the development of high-quality research, Research Coordination Teachers have been incorporated to the hospitals where professional residencies are based, which play a key role in the consolidation of research activities as a fundamental component of the residency system. Complementarily, “protected times” for research in residencies have been established, acknowledging the importance of this dimension in the comprehensive training of the new generations of healthcare professionals.

The Ministry of Health of the Buenos Aires province has supported various research projects and has answered calls of provincial interest. Some remarkable examples include the research on the use of amniotic membrane, and the follow-up study of the voluntary interruption of pregnancy. We have also collaborated alongside the National University of San Martin and the Cassará laboratory with the development the COVID-19 vaccine, and we have explored the therapeutic use of cannabis. Moreover, we have carried out research in different fields, such as the use of COVID-19 convalescent plasma; multi-employment, profiles of professionals and work dynamic in nursing and medicine, the Work Force situation room, vaccine effectiveness, a serologic platform, and the use of tocilizumab as COVID-19 treatment.

Likewise, we have promoted multi-center research funded by international laboratories at our provincial centers, with a special focus on studies involving Cansino and Curevac vaccines. Additionally, the development of technology transfer forums has facilitated the creation of enabling environments for translational research in our provincial hospitals.

In conclusion, we are confident that this new communication tool will contribute to the interchange and the dissemination of the scientific production carried out in the Buenos Aires province. Our aim is to put the central focus on the population, and even promote their participation, since their welfare constitutes the essential core that drives the research and dissemination of scientific knowledge in the field of public health.