Audiovisual E-learning platform: MEDICAL TRANSPORT OF PATIENTS WITH TROPICAL DISEASES IN SAFE CONDITIONS Erasmus Project

Project Title

Audiovisual E-learning platform: MEDICAL TRANSPORT OF PATIENTS WITH TROPICAL DISEASES IN SAFE CONDITIONS

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Health and wellbeing

Project Summary

BACKGROUND:

The sanitary transport service is a dangerous task when professionals have to deal with patients suffering from contagious diseases. The outbreak of Ebola in 2014 and the H1N1 influenza virus demonstrated a lack of effective training in some cases in the EU. Nowadays there are several protocols to manage tropical diseases but health professionals are demanding specific guidelines and more practical training material. More specifically, sanitary professionals have detected some deficiencies in the current trainings:

• There is a large dispersion and lack of homogenous criteria for the training in sanitary professionals in cases of tropical diseases.
• There is a significant dispersion of guidelines to follow (WHO protocols, national protocols, guidelines army ….) and no harmonization.
• There are no specific training plans, and the only materials available are just some informal brochures
• Sanitary transport staff states that they have the action protocols, but no clear guidelines for action. There are no training available for protective equipment.
• The treatment of tropical diseases requires specialized training and preventive and stringent measures to prevent infection. It should include health professionals and corroborate the several protocols that have been launched in different regions to prevent future infections.

On other hand, the creation of the Schengen Area and the suppression of internal borders in the EU make necessary common policies and procedures to face any potential outbreak of the virus through transnational actions.

OBJECTIVES:

The TROPICSAFE project has developed an homogeneous training protocol at the European level focused on patient transport professionals with normalized guidelines for a proper and safely transfer of patients with tropical diseases.

This training has been published in an Open Online Learning Platform since it’s considered the best way for transmitting the disinfection guidelines and use of protective equipment. The training includes audiovisual support such as videos, images, and graphics in order to better demonstrate the safety procedures the professionals should follow. The e-learning platform is completed with questions & answers tests to evaluate the training process.

It has been translated to the languages of the consortium to get the support of the national health authorities and increase its impact. It has also been transferred to European institutions to set common criteria within the EU.

PARTNERSHIP:

The partnership was composed of entities combining expertise in different fields, such as medical transport, vocational training, work safety, and tropical diseases. They complement and each one provides different expertise. They were:

– ANEA (National Federation of Ambulances). Spain
– SGS TECNOS (A multinational company specialized in work safety). Spain
– MURRAY AMBULANCE SERVICE Ltd. (SME of medical transport) Ireland
– BIEDRIBA EUROFORTIS (NGO specialized in vocational training): Latvia
– Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine. (Research Institute) Germany

The fact that we had an international consortium has ensured a wider diffusion of the project, reaching the professionals of the health sector and public authorities at all levels.

IMPACT:

The main beneficiaries of this project have been sanitary transport workers, private companies, professional associations in the medical transport, trainers, Public and Private centers of training, and health professionals. The consortium included an associated hospital and partners were working closely with the Public Health Authorities. They have transferred the results to make them available for society, and thus achieving more homogeneous safety procedures throughout the EU member states.

The training program is hosted in an e-learning platform and has a Creative Commons license, so it is easier to disseminate the results, and anyone is able to benefit from them.

Project Website

https://www.tropicsafe.com/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 255075,12 Eur

Project Coordinator

BERNHARD-NOCHT-INSTITUT FUER TROPENMEDIZIN & Country: DE

Project Partners

• BIEDRIBA EUROFORTIS
• FEDERACION NACIONAL DE EMPRESARIOS DE AMBULANCIAS
• Murray Ambulance Service ltd.
• SGS TECNOS SA