title: Open access: a giant leap towards bridging health inequities.
abstract: AbstractAccess to health research publications is an essential requirement in securing the chain of communication from the researcher to the front-line health worker. As the diagram of the knowledge cycle from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research shows, health knowledge generated in the world's laboratories is passed down the information chain through publications, through its impact and application, its subsequent "translation" into appropriate contexts for different user communities, arriving finally with health workers and the general public. This article focuses on the first link in the chain, from research author to reader, and the free online access to peer-reviewed published articles that are the building blocks for future health innovation developments.
authors.affiliation: Bioline International, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Leslie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Subbiah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arunachalam
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kirsop
mesh_terms: D022126:Access to Information; D002170:Canada; D006302:Health Services Research; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D020407:Internet; D020452:Journalism
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