Reflections on the open access to information in the Cuban context: the case of the health sector

Abstract

We reflect on the open access to scientific information in the Cuban context, with a special focus in the health sector, based on a retrospective view of some strategies used in Cuba to guarantee the fair and universal access to information and knowledge after the revolutionary success in 1959. Complimentarily, we analyze the results of a survey on knowledge and attitudes of Cuban health researchers and professionals toward the open access movement. On that basis we develop some final considerations about the exigency of implementing an open access policy for the Cuban scientific production in the health sector.