Exploring patient participation in reducing health-care-related safety risks

especially those in intensive care. The approach developed in the United States
was adapted and tested in Spain and the United Kingdom, with successful results.
Lessons from this experience will help understanding the conditions for effective
implementation. A process evaluation of the Spanish experience has been conducted by
WHO and will be released shortly.
Injection safety
WHO has begun new work on injection safety in consultation with internal and
external partners to address the pressing issue of reuse of syringes and needlestick
injuries in health care workers.
High 5s
Based on the principle that standardization can lead to safety, the High 5s initiative
(8) developed and tested standardized approaches for improving organizational, team
and clinical practices to advance patient safety. The initiative focused on learning
of what works and does not work using standardized protocols to reduce patient
harm. Following three years of implementation in eight countries, lessons learned
about standardization will be disseminated to more Member States interested in
standardization and patient safety.
Technology for Patient Safety
The initiative entitled Technology for Patient Safety focuses on opportunities to
harness new technologies to improve patient safety. The initiative sets out an initial set
of priorities for WHO and its partners in the broad areas of information technology
for patient safety, designing safe new technology and making existing health care
technology safer. This mapping was published in a special issue of BMJ Quality and
Safety in Health Care.
Knowledge Management
The Knowledge Management scheme works with Member States and partners to
gather and share knowledge on patient safety developments, including through the
use of webinar technology. WHO has developed a training programme using webinars
(visual training materials displayed on the web) to raise capacity on patient safety
in developing and transitional countries. Courses have been produced in various
languages, expanding significantly the reach of these knowledge management activities.
Additionally, WHO and the International Society for Quality in Health Care have
jointly run discussion forums on the society’s knowledge platform and WHO is hosting
an increasing number of communities of practice to facilitate cross sharing and learning.
Capacity building and education for safer care
A multiprofessional curriculum guide (9) for undergraduate and postgraduate health
care providers and other resources were developed within the framework of capacity
building and education for safer care. A new guide for developing training programmes
for patient safety research was produced in 2012 (10). WHO has developed training
materials on 26 quality improvement and patient safety topics for building capacity and
knowledge of health care educators, leaders, managers and providers. Education and
training are delivered through workshops and e-learning will commence in 2014.
WHO Patient Safety Programme
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