title: Brazilian health technology assessment bulletin: editorial process, dissemination strategies, critical appraisal, and initial impact.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study reports on the Brazilian experience of developing a specialized bulletin, the Brazilian Health Technology Assessment Bulletin (BRATS), on health technology assessments (HTA).
  
  
  METHODS
  The editorial process, format, and dissemination strategy of the publication are presented. A critical appraisal of the available issues was made using the checklist for HTA reports of the International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment. The initial impact was estimated based on a retrospective observational measurement of the types of publications that cite the bulletin as a source of information. The publications citing BRATS were identified using Google Scholar.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Since June 2008, fourteen issues of the bulletin have been produced. BRATS has not presented any significant limitation that would compromise generalizations of its results within the Brazilian context. The initial impact of the bulletin, however, has been small, which may be due to its exclusively electronic dissemination format and technical language. We found nine publications citing BRATS in Google Scholar.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is hoped that the bulletin will promote the continuity of HTA actions among health-sector managers and professionals in Brazil.
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Health of Brazil. marcus.silva@saude.gov.br
authors.forename: Marcus Tolentino
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Rosimary Terezinha
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: de Almeida
authors.forename: Cintia Maria
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Gava
authors.forename: Taís Freire
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Galvão
authors.forename: Edina Mariko Koga
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.forename: Vania Cristina Canuto
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Misani Akiko Kanamota
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ronchini
authors.forename: Aline Monte
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: de Mesquita
authors.forename: Flávia Tavares Silva
authors.initials: FT
authors.lastname: Elias
authors.forename: Alexandre Lemgruber Portugal
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: d'Oliveira
authors.forename: Alvaro Nagib
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Atallah
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D035081:Editorial Policies; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination / Q000379:methods*; D017146:Models, Organizational; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013673:Technology Assessment, Biomedical / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013997:Time Factors