Cases & Voices

The work of Brazil's national research and education network, RNP, was, during 2019, a good example of how advanced networks can benefit their countries in areas such as Health and Culture. Over the past year, RNP has provided remote connectivity and collaboration services for research groups in both areas, allowing for the integration and dissemination of knowledge.

HEALTH

Collaborative health networks

In Health, RNP maintained the initiative to support the collaborative networks Telessaúde Brasil Redes, Rute, NutriSSAN and RGHU - with a focus on improving and strengthening them and, at the same time, encouraging the emergence of future interinstitutional work.

In addition, the Collaborative Networks project was launched, which will design a solution that meets the needs of NutriSSAN, Rute and RetSUS managers and members on the themes of Collaborative Environment, Knowledge Repository, Distance Learning and Bilingual Platform. From interviews with members of these networks, it was possible to understand the needs for improvement. The deployment will take place throughout 2020.

Telehealth Brazil Networks

The program seeks to improve the quality of care and primary care in the Unified Health System (SUS), through social and digital inclusion, which enable teleconsulting, telediagnosis, tele-education and a second training opinion. In 2019, the Training Course for Tele-regulators and Tele-telehealth Consultants for Primary Health Care was held. The training, carried out remotely, benefited about 500 professionals between July and September and was only possible with the support of the State Tele-Health Center of the University Hospital of the Federal University of Maranhão (HU-UFMA).

In addition, the GT-RarasNet, RNP's Thematic GTs program working group, on the theme of e-Health, delivered the application that conveys national information on rare diseases, including treatment protocols, drug lists and reference centers, in order to expand and qualify health care. The result was a robust, structured, fluid and intuitive service, allowing a panoramic and wide view of national and international information on rare diseases. Five rooms for video and web conferencing were also suitable, and another health unit was included in RNP's backbone.

Rute

The Telemedicine University Network (Rute) brings scientific, technological, economic and social impacts to medical services by enabling the implementation of medical image analysis systems with remote diagnostics. This can go a long way towards reducing the shortage of specialists, in addition to providing training and qualification for medical professionals without traveling to reference centers.

As a highlight of the year, RNP inaugurated three Rute units - Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein (HIAE), Institute of Strategic Health Management of the Federal District (IGESDF) and Hospital das Armed Forces (HFA). In addition, the network signed a technical cooperation agreement with the Brazilian Society of Health Informatics (SBIS), the Brazilian Association of Telemedicine and Telehealth (ABTms) and the Brazilian Association of Public Health (Abrasco). The objective of the partnership is to promote digital health in Brazil through joint projects. “One of the necessary pillars for health is infrastructure. We need to make a unique move. This agreement is the epicenter of that moment ”, declared the president of SBIS, Luis Gustavo Kiatake.

NutriSSAN

The network is a valuable contribution to the efforts of Brazil and the international community in the fight against hunger, malnutrition and poverty. RNP supports MCTIC in the governance of the network and provides a technological communication platform for virtual interaction and cooperation between network participants. The network is integrated with the strategies of Sovereignty and Food and Nutritional Security (SSAN) as a support tool in the articulation and integration between researchers, extension workers, students and society.
Throughout 2019, three institutions opened their units, contributing to the expansion of NutriSSAN: Federal Universities for Latin American Integration (Unila), Goiás (UFG) and Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). As a result, the chain currently has six units opened at NutriSSAN.

The coordinator of the Graduate Program in Rural Development at UFRGS, Gabriela Coelho, already realizes the benefits of ASSAN Círculo (Circle of Reference in Agroecology, Sociobiodiversity, Sovereignty and Food and Nutritional Security) having become a unit of NutriSSAN.

“We have been part of the network since June 2019 and have already reaped fruit for the community, as we see this space as a platform for dialogue with our partner institutions, its researchers and students in Brazil and Latin America. We will even use the technology available from NutriSSAN to teach an extension course in 2020 on “Experience in Agroecology in Latin America”. 150 vacancies were opened that will benefit researchers from Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Bolivia, Mexico and other interested countries ”, explained Gabriela.

Expansion of the RGHU Network

The University Hospitals Management Network (RGHU) project, started in 2016, aims at structuring a fiber optic network that connects federal university hospitals managed by the Brazilian Hospital Services Company (EBSERH). The first phase of the partnership connected the headquarters of EBSERH and 17 hospitals.

In 2019, six new hospitals were connected to RNP's high-speed network. In addition, in partnership with Ebserh, the seminar “The Evolution and Challenges of Digital Health in Brazil” was held at the RNP 2019 Forum. Participants had the opportunity to discuss how technology is benefiting health and what is the potential for the coming years, in addition to regulatory challenges. Ebserh IT professionals also participated in training courses on topics such as Information Technology Governance and General Data Protection Law, in addition to having a space for technical debates on network initiatives.

CULTURE

Expanding access to Brazilian audiovisual production

In the last year, RNP strengthened the actions of the Rede de Cinemas, which aims to enhance and expand access to Brazilian audiovisual content while also aiming to strengthen the national circuit. Thus, it constitutes an important segment for the expansion of qualified exhibition spaces in Brazil.

One of the initiatives is the holding of screening sessions at Cinemas em Rede, which contributes to the creation of an audiovisual exhibition circuit at universities and federal institutions throughout Brazil. In 2019, eight sessions were held followed by a debate with directors and producers of the film, providing interaction, knowledge exchange and social participation. These exhibitions had an audience of 977 people. Thus, the action takes RNP to new audiences within teaching and research institutions.

Another highlight of 2019 was the presentation of the results of the Qualification Call for Cinemas Network, which was attended by more than 120 interested exhibitors.

One of the important results of the survey is that more than 25% of the exhibitors who participated in the call are located in municipalities that do not have a cinema registered with Ancine. In addition, about 45% of participating institutions hold exhibitions regularly. "I understand that these last two data show the interest of institutions in offering services and actions in culture in their respective cities and regions", highlighted the manager of Relationship in Culture at RNP, Álvaro Malaguti.