BackgroundThe paper intends to help scientific authors to make the best choice of journals in which to publish, by describing and comparing journal features in the area of oncology. For this purpose, the authors identified impact factor (IF) ranking, cost options and copyright conditions offered to authors wishing to publish in full open access (OA), subscription-based or hybrid journals.MethodsData referring to articles published in 2010 by three Italian research institutions (National Institute of Health – Rome (ISS), Regina Elena National Cancer Institute – Rome (IRE), National Cancer Institute – Milan (INT) in journals (78) managed according to different business models, all listed in the Journal Citation Reports, subject category Oncology, were collected and analysed. The journals surveyed were ranked according to IF, position in quartiles, publication charges, usage rights in published articles, self-archiving conditions in OAI-compliant repositories digital archives.ResultsAlmost half (34) the journals surveyed were included in the first quartile, thus revealing authors’ preference for journals with a high IF. The prevalent journal business model was the hybrid formula (based on subscriptions but also offering a paid OA option) with 51 journals, followed by subscription-based only journals accounting for 22, while just 5 full OA journals were identified. In general, no relationship was found between IF and article publication charges, in terms of correspondence between more expensive fees and higher IF.ConclusionsThe issue of OA journals as compared with traditional subscription-based journals is highly debated among stakeholders: library administrators facing financial restrictions, authors seeking to locate the best outlet for their research, publishers wishing to increase their revenues by offering journals with wider appeal. Against this background, factors such as the quest for alternatives to high-cost business models, investments in setting up institutional repositories hosting the published versions of articles and efforts to overcome copyright barriers and gain free access to scientific literature are all crucial.

BackgroundOpen Access (OA) to scientific information is an important step forward in communication patterns, yet we still need to reinforce OA principles to promote a cultural change of traditional publishing practices. The advantages of free access to scientific information are even more evident in public health where knowledge is directly associated with human wellbeing.ObjectivesAn OA ‘consolidation’ initiative in public health is presented to show how the involvement of people and institutions is fundamental to create awareness on OA and promote a cultural change. This initiative is developed within the project NEtwork of COllaboration Between Europe and Latin American Caribbean countries (NECOBELAC), financed by the European Commission.MethodsThree actions are envisaged: Capacity building through a flexible and sustainable training programme on scientific writing and OA publishing; creation of training tools based on semantic web technologies; development of a network of supporting institutions.ResultsIn 2010–2011, 23 training initiatives were performed involving 856 participants from 15 countries; topic maps on scientific publication and OA were produced; 195 institutions are included in the network.ConclusionsCultural change in scientific dissemination practices is a long process requiring a flexible approach and strong commitment by all stakeholders.

BackgroundThe Open Archive Initiative (OAI) refers to a movement started around the '90s to guarantee free access to scientific information by removing the barriers to research results, especially those related to the ever increasing journal subscription prices. This new paradigm has reshaped the scholarly communication system and is closely connected to the build up of institutional repositories (IRs) conceived to the benefit of scientists and research bodies as a means to keep possession of their own literary production. The IRs are high-value tools which permit authors to gain visibility by enabling rapid access to scientific material (not only publications) thus increasing impact (citation rate) and permitting a multidimensional assessment of research findings.MethodsA survey was conducted in March 2010 to mainly explore the managing system in use for archiving the research finding adopted by the Italian Scientific Institutes for Research, Hospitalization and Health Care (IRCCS) of the oncology area within the Italian National Health Service (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale, SSN). They were asked to respond to a questionnaire intended to collect data about institutional archives, metadata formats and posting of full-text documents. The enquiry concerned also the perceived role of the institutional repository DSpace ISS, built up by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS) and based on a XML scheme for encoding metadata. Such a repository aims at acting as a unique reference point for the biomedical information produced by the Italian research institutions. An in-depth analysis has also been performed on the collection of information material addressed to patients produced by the institutions surveyed.ResultsThe survey respondents were 6 out of 9. The results reveal the use of different practices and standard among the institutions concerning: the type of documentation collected, the software adopted, the use and format of metadata and the conditions of accessibility to the IRs.ConclusionsThe Italian research institutions in the field of oncology are moving the first steps towards the philosophy of OA. The main effort should be the implementation of common procedures also in order to connect scientific publications to researchers curricula. In this framework, an important effort is represented by the project of ISS aimed to set a common interface able to allow migration of data from partner institutions to the OA compliant repository DSpace ISS.

BACKGROUND Health literacy is widely recognised as an important social determinant of health, although it is difficult to measure it at national, regional and local level. OBJECTIVE This study aims to measure the level of health information literacy in a sample of elderly people living in the city of Pescara (Central Italy). Besides, the level of health information literacy, as an integral part of health literacy, was checked among the people surveyed. METHODS The study was conducted through a questionnaire during an eye screening in a cohort of elderly people in 2017. The targeted audience included 595 individuals (60 and over years of age); 414 questionnaires were eligible for examination. The questionnaire was organised into two sections, the first one was set up by the authors of this paper, whilst the second one was based on the European Health Literacy Survey (HLS-EU). RESULTS Data collected refer to the number of respondents per question, as a matter of fact not all surveyed people (414) answered to each question. Most respondents (283 out of 411) were women (69 %). The sample revealed low education level: only 9% had a degree and/or post-doc; 25% had a high school diploma, 39% attended only primary school and 27% junior high school. The family doctor was the preferred source to get information from, Internet was the less used source (22%, 91 out of 414). Most participants sought information in Italian. As regards the subject of information retrieved, the answers collected (90) highlighted that the majority of respondents looked for information on diseases in general (94%), on therapies (77%), on nutrition issues (74%), and on diagnosis (69%). A good percentage looks for information on drugs (50%) and on health facilities (44%). Most of them also declared that they easily understand what their practitioner says. Besides, they claimed they did not find any difficulty in understanding medicines’ labels and drug prescriptions, or to cope with other health conditions. CONCLUSIONS This survey addressed a homogeneous group of elderly people living in a small area of Central Italy. Most respondents declared to address family and/or specialist doctors for health information, and just a minor percentage (22%) also declared they surf the Internet, mainly through search engines, claiming to be rather satisfied with results without questioning their reliability. Most respondents declared to have an easy access and understanding of health information. Yet the study results showed that respondents were not aware of that information overload requires critical skills in order to select trusted and updated medical information. Health information literacy is difficult to measure; this survey shows the need of further investigation and the use of standardised measuring tools. It is also fundamental to promote corrective strategies, like prescription of information (Information RX) or creation of quality health portals in native languages (e.g. ISSalute) and to offer professional support (patient’s libraries or information points) for improving health literacy levels.