Malcolm Kooa,b*
aGraduate Institute of Long-Term Care, Tzu Chi University of Science and Technology, Hualien, Taiwan, bDalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Open Access funded by Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation
At the time of global public health emergencies, such as the current 2019 coronavirus disease outbreak (COVID‑19) [1], research articles on the topic are appearing at an ever‑accelerating rate [2]. While the PubMed bibliographic database is arguably the most convenient and comprehensive online resource for accessing peer‑reviewed biomedical literature, there are other sources to consider when timely
information is a critical concern. With the initiative put forward by the Wellcome Trust in response to the Zika virus outbreak in 2016 [3], various major publishers and organizations have committed to make research findings relevant to global public health emergencies
available as rapidly and openly as possible [Table 1]. With this, researchers can benefit from timely and free access to all relevant peer‑reviewed research publications, including those otherwise accessible by subscription only.
