June 2013
If history has no end, then the journal História, Ciências, Saúde – Manguinhos can’t stand still in time. Joining the global network, it has now launched a blog and moved onto Facebook and Twitter.
Editor Jaime Benchimol did try to stand his ground. But he eventually admitted defeat, surrendering to this omnipresent force that once was a thing of the future. It’s his gain, since now he’ll be able to find out what HCS-Manguinhos’ readers are thinking and can count on their collaboration in spreading the journal’s content.
The premier edition of the blog discusses the benefits of diversifying forms of communication in order to do a better job of disseminating science among the general public and to subject it to review as well, since published findings will face the critical eye of a larger network of experts. In two interviews, Scielo coordinator Abel Packer and biologist and blogger Átila Lamarino list the reasons why science journals should adopt online communication strategies, using tools like blogs and social networks.
All HCSM content is already available on Scielo, where it has been accessed over 6,000,000 times since its inclusion on the site in 2000. The journal is hoping that both the blog and its presence on FB and Twitter will enhance its visibility, increase the number of visits, and create a bigger platform for the material it publishes. The blog also offers access to all 79 issues released by the journal since 1994.
Slave health and scientific exchange between Brazil and Germany
The premier edition of HCSM’s blog spotlights the two most recent issues of the print journal. The articles in the special supplement on health and slavery show how slaves were the prime victims of a number of diseases linked to living conditions and hygiene. Focusing on the history of medical and scientific relations between Brazil and Germany, the first regular issue of 2013 offers analyses from different perspectives on scientific exchange between the two countries, the commercial interests of the pharmaceutical industry, and the controversial medical and political visions that were prevalent in the between-war period.
Also featured is the incorporation of pajés (shamans) and other representatives of traditional medicine into Brazil’s public health policies, with a look at the changes that are occurring at a local level as a consequence of this new approach by Brazil’s Unified Health System (SUS).
The blog also offers its readers tips on where to source research information, links to articles approved for release ahead of print, and a wealth of other news about the world of history, health, and science.
Access the social networks of the journal História, Ciências, Saúde – Manguinhos:
www.facebook.com/revistahcsm
www.twitter.com/revistahcsm
