Washington DC, March 25, 2021 (PAHO) - The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) through the Virtual Campus of Public Health (CVSP) launched eleven open-access virtual courses and free of charge.
The courses are self-learning, people can take them at their own pace, without defined times, and autonomously. There is no deadline to complete these courses. Participants who review all the educational material, pass the evaluations, and answer the Virtual Campus quality survey are able to download the certificate of participation and approval issued by PAHO.
The new courses available are the following:
Training for health personnel on vaccination against COVID-19
This course provides general information on COVID-19 and specific information on vaccine storage, handling and administration, vaccination registration, and monitoring, including post-immunization adverse event surveillance, and communication, through a series of short video tutorials and quizzes. The course is designed primarily for frontline health workers who will be both vaccinators and one of the priority groups for receiving the vaccine. The original version of the course can be found in Open WHO, WHO educational platform.
Hospital Incident Command System
The purpose of the Hospital Incident Command System is that hospital emergency and disaster response plans are formulated with the participation of health personnel at different levels and institutions, to act more quickly and provide better logistical and administrative support to all the hospital operating personnel. The course has a duration of 14 hours and is aimed at all health workers involved in responding to emergencies and disasters in hospitals, whether at the directive, management or coordination, or operational level.
Oral Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) of HIV infection - eLearning tool for clinicians
This self-learning course aims at practicing health professionals around the globe who currently have a client population at high-risk for contracting HIV and provide or will provide, Oral PrEP or Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP). The course has four interactive lessons and begins with identifying suitable candidates for Oral PrEP use. It continues with initiating Oral PrEP in a client and special situations a health professional may encounter. It concludes with key counseling strategies, including minimization of PrEP stigma. It is available in Spanish and in English.
Diagnosis, treatment and prevention of acute poisonings caused by pesticides
This self-learning course provides tools for health workers in the countries of the Region to develop skills in the diagnosis, timely and adequate treatment of cases of acute and chronic poisoning, and the application of preventive measures in people exposed to pesticides. It is aimed at public health professionals with activities in health services with populations potentially exposed to pesticides. Available in Spanish.
Clinical diagnosis and management of dengue
The purpose of this course is to provide health personnel in charge of treating suspected dengue cases with the necessary information to make a timely clinical diagnosis and offer proper clinical management, avoiding the progression to severe forms and deaths caused by this disease. This course was developed with a comprehensive vision, and it is divided into seven modules that include: epidemiological information on dengue; pathophysiology of clinical manifestations; clinical and differential diagnosis; severity classification; recommendations for the management of dengue according to its severity and managing patients with comorbidities. It is available in Spanish and in English.
Identification and sensitivity to antifungals in yeasts of the genus Candida
This educational proposal is aimed at health professionals with basic knowledge in microbiology and who carry out their activity in the clinical or research microbiology laboratory: biochemists, biologists, mycologists, microbiologists, laboratory technicians, residents and participants. The course seeks to unify criteria for the use of standardized methods for the identification and determination of antifungal sensitivity in yeasts of the genus Candida. Available in Spanish.
Basic environmental epidemiology
The course proposes to identify the different types of studies in environmental epidemiology, for their application in the analysis of the environment and public policies, in order to monitor diseases and other population health problems, based on the recognition of risk factors and causality criteria. It was prepared in collaboration with experts on environmental epidemiology issues from reference institutions and with PAHO/WHO collaborating centers in the Americas.
Multi-threat response framework: Hospital planning for response to health emergencies and disasters
This initiative provides information for the development of a hospital plan to respond to health emergencies and disasters. Participants will learn the necessary tools for the development of operational plans and documents for the response and recovery of the hospital.
Climate-resilient water security plans
Climate change produces changes in water temperature and rainfall patterns, severe and prolonged drought, or increased flooding, with consequences on the quality and scarcity of water. In this course, it is sought that the participants understand the risk that this implies in the health of the population, through the formulation of Water Safety Plans, which guarantee the safety of water for human consumption.
Initial Planning in Social Marketing for Public Health
This course is the second of five courses that make up the Social Marketing for Public Health Program. This learning program aims to train public health professionals from the Americas region to implement social marketing programs, apply commercial marketing strategies in search of behavior change in the population, promote healthy habits, or prevent diseases.
The first course of the program, Introduction to Social Marketing for Public Health, addresses this discipline’s essential theoretical aspects and is a prerequisite for taking the rest of its courses. Available in English and in Spanish.
Introduction to Scientific Communication in Health Sciences in Portuguese
This course seeks to train participants in the main concepts that govern scientific communication; increase awareness of the need to report on research results and clinical observation, and learn the principles and rules that govern the correct writing of scientific reports and articles. It is intended for healthcare professionals and technicians, researchers, scientific editors, undergraduate and graduate students in health careers, and other interested parties.
Visit the PAHO Virtual Campus for Public Health and learn about all the educational options available online, free of charge and open access.
