This self-learning course, offered by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is free of charge. The course is aimed at professionals related to the health sector, specialties with experience in hospital activities (engineers, architects, specialists in electrical and mechanical equipment, or both); health care specialists (medical, nursing, and administrative personnel), personnel trained in integrated disaster risk management planning, specialists in planning or administration and logistics, and safety advisors, safety inspectors, among others.

The course focuses on the Safe Hospitals initiative that the World Health Organization (WHO) has promoted and supported for more than 25 years. After the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) published the first version of the Hospital Safety Index (HSI) in 2008, this Hospital Safety Index was revised and updated in 2015 and is now applied in more than 83 countries around the world.

Increasing the level of preparedness of a health facility for response can be achieved by identifying vulnerabilities through the HSI-2; the gender approach and the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the response to multiple hazards are cross-cutting aspects that should be emphasized. In order to strengthen the capacity of facilities, and to implement in each hospital a set of tools that facilitate early recovery in the context of operational continuity, the second version of the Hospital Safety Index is at the heart of local, national and global initiatives to contribute to the resilience of the Health Sector.

Course Structure

Module 1: Hazards that affect hospital security and the role of the hospital in emergency and disaster management

Module 2: Structural safety

Module 3: Non-structural safety

Module 4: Emergency and disaster management

Module 5: Evaluation procedure and presentation of results

Evaluation and certificate

A formative partial evaluation will be conducted in each module. The exams are designed to provide participants with multiple opportunities to answer correctly until the required score of at least 80% is obtained.

Participants who meet the course completion requirements will be able to take the VCPH Quality Survey and download their course completion certificate issued by the Pan American Health Organization.