Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42058611›Full record

ReviewBulletin of the World Health Organization2026

Online sources of health-related traditional knowledge: content for a traditional medicine library.

Carmen Vm Abdala, Mariana C Schveitzer, Ricardo Ghelman, Mirelys Puerta-Diaz, M Sharmila A Sousa, Viswajanani J Sattigeri, Geetha K Gopalakrishna Pillai, Maki Kajiwara, Shyama Kuruvilla, João P Souza

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Carmen Vm AbdalaLatin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information, Pan American Health Organization, Rua Vergueiro 1759, 12° andar, Paraíso, São Paulo-SP, 04101-000, Brazil.
Mariana C SchveitzerPaulista School of Medicine, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Ricardo GhelmanDepartment of Medicine on Primary Health Care, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Mirelys Puerta-DiazLatin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information, Pan American Health Organization, Rua Vergueiro 1759, 12° andar, Paraíso, São Paulo-SP, 04101-000, Brazil.
M Sharmila A SousaSão Paulo, Brazil.
Viswajanani J SattigeriCouncil of Scientific & Industrial Research, Traditional Knowledge Digital Library Unit, Ministry of Science and Technology, New Delhi, India.
Geetha K Gopalakrishna PillaiLatin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information, Pan American Health Organization, Rua Vergueiro 1759, 12° andar, Paraíso, São Paulo-SP, 04101-000, Brazil.
Maki KajiwaraLatin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information, Pan American Health Organization, Rua Vergueiro 1759, 12° andar, Paraíso, São Paulo-SP, 04101-000, Brazil.
Shyama KuruvillaLatin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information, Pan American Health Organization, Rua Vergueiro 1759, 12° andar, Paraíso, São Paulo-SP, 04101-000, Brazil.
João P SouzaLatin American and Caribbean Center on Health Sciences Information, Pan American Health Organization, Rua Vergueiro 1759, 12° andar, Paraíso, São Paulo-SP, 04101-000, Brazil.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective: To map digital resources on traditional, complementary and integrative medicine, including databases, repositories, libraries and web portals providing access to traditional knowledge, research or policy information. Methods: We undertook a rapid review of publications related to digital resources on traditional medicine. We also surveyed specialists in traditional medicine for referrals to digital resources. We searched PubMed®, Embase, the Virtual Health Library of the Pan American Health Organization and Google. Eligible resources were digital platforms indexing traditional medicine knowledge, research or policy. From the publications identified, we retrieved relevant digital resources and extracted data on their scope, content and geographic distribution. Findings: From 102 studies, we identified 358 potentially relevant digital resources on traditional medicine across all regions of the World Health Organization (WHO). We included 125 of these resources in our inventory of traditional medicine digital resources. The Western Pacific Region accounted for 36% (45/125) of the resources, led by China with 34 resources, and the Americas accounted for 24% (30/125) of the resources, with 24 resources from the United States of America. Most digital resources focused on pharmacological or clinical applications; only five addressed Indigenous medicine. Conclusion: Digital resources on traditional, complementary and integrative medicine are diverse but fragmented. Codified systems are predominant while Indigenous traditions are marginalized. WHO's Traditional Medicine Global Library offers an opportunity to correct these imbalances by creating an inclusive, ethically governed platform that safeguards knowledge systems and supports their equitable integration into global health.

Indexed as

InternetLibraries, DigitalLibraries, MedicalMedicine, TraditionalDigital MediaHumans

Identifiers

PMID42058611
PMCPMC13123431

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.