Dear readers:
This month, we focus our announcement on our membership program initiatives, bring you up to date on recent changes to our fee schedule and the opportunity to submit abstracts to the online Palliative Care Network conference.
One of the most critical tools to improve patient care is access to new information including scientific peer reviewed journals. Access to scientific journals is very limited in developing countries mostly because of high subscription costs and membership fees by some of the organizations which own various journals.
Based on the above, four years ago IAHPC signed an agreement with EBSCO to offer access for our members to a large database, CINAHL, of journals and publications to help bridge this gap. Through the database, our members have access to thousands of citations, as well as full online access to hundreds of journals, including the following:
We are very grateful with the publishers of these journals who have been very supportive of this initiative to find ways to enable legitimate access to a wealth of published information.
The IAHPC offers grants and support to individuals and programs in developing countries. Our most popular programs are:
a. Traveling Scholarship Program: Through this program we support the travel of individuals working in developing countries who wish to participate or enroll in an educational activity, including congresses, seminars, and formal degree seeking courses.
b. Traveling Fellowship Program: Through this program, we provide support to individuals who are invited to teach in a developing country, and spend time providing advice and support to palliative care individuals and their institutions.
In order to facilitate access to these extraordinary resources for individuals in developing countries, the IAHPC board of directors adopted a membership schedule of fees based on the Gross National Income of the country, as reported by the United Nations, where the palliative care worker is located. This is a just and fair fee that will facilitate access to the database by workers from around the globe.
It’s been four years since IAHPC adopted the fee schedule. Recently the IAHPC Board discussed the cost of the membership program as well as the revenues generated by our membership fees and voted a small increase. To reach this decision, we analyzed the benefits offered by other organizations as well as their costs to join. IAHPC clearly offers more benefits for a lower fee than many others.
We hope that many of you will join or renew your membership if you have not done so recently through our secure form.
And last but not least, this current edition of the Newsletter features the winners of the best poster prizes for the Online Congress of the 2013 Palliative Care Network Conference. They were: Mary O’Brien (UK), MD, Arunangshu Ghoshal, MD (India) and Karen S. Fernandez, MD (USA). Congratulations to these winners for their recognition. IAHPC is the proud sponsor of this award and will also add support to the Palliative Care Network Conference 2014. The submission of abstracts has been extended to July 15, so make sure you submit one! The PCN is a great resource and an extraordinary way to attend a virtual conference at NO Cost to participants from all over the globe.
Best to all and until next month,
Lukas Radbruch, MD
Chair, Board of Directors
Liliana De Lima, MHA
Executive Director
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