Index medicus for the Eastern Mediterranean region

Indexing and abstracting services are multipurpose tools. They represent an inventory or a record of literature published according to a certain set of criteria such as subject, geographic coverage or authorship. They form the basis for the development of networks of researchers and authors, and they are the road map to lead information users as to what, where, when a document was published and by whom. An index is a systematic arrangement of entries designed to enable users to locate information in a document [1]. Indexes are the starting point for accessing information and making it available through document delivery services and online access. From the point of view of the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO), the Index Medicus for the Eastern Mediterranean Region (IMEMR) has been maintained to achieve all the above purposes and beyond. Publishing in science and technology including health and biomedical sciences represents a small portion of most of the national information production in the Region, which has resulted in weak indexing and abstracting services. National indexing and abstracting services do not exist in most of the EMR member states. The Index was initiated to fill the gap of the near absence of health and biomedical journals published in the Region from international indexing and abstracting services. Other WHO Regional Offices have initiated similar activities to fulfil similar needs in member states of these regions. The ultimate goal of these indexes is to create a global index medicus that can bridge the gap resulting from lack of indexing of "third world" biomedical literature in MEDLINE and other international systems. This article provides a description and analysis of the IMEMR and how it maps health and biomedical literature in the Region, and acts as a knowledge diffusion mechanism.Facilitating access to health information is within the WHO constitution. It is stated that " [the] extension to all peoples of the bene