Graphical Abstract
Graphical Abstract.
LI, low-income countries; LMIC, low- and middle-income countries; HMI, high- and middle-income countries; HIC, high-income countries.
Resource web link: https://openwho.org/courses/COVID-19-IPC-EN (Full classification scheme available at: http://bsac.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Educational-resource-review-classification-scheme.pdf)
WHO region and country (World Bank): European Region, Switzerland (HIC)
Peer review commentary
This online course from the WHO is divided into three modules: (1) preparedness, readiness and Infection Prevention and Control (IPC); (2) the novel coronavirus (COVID-19): its epidemiology, risk factors, definitions and symptomology; and (3) standard precautions, transmission-based precautions and COVID-19-specific recommendations. The course is a series of narrated slides, which themselves consist of mainly text with some images.
The first module dealing with preparedness, readiness and IPC is a strategic overview of national-, regional- and local-level preparations that should be in place before an outbreak has occurred. As such, it is difficult to know who this will be relevant and useful for; on one hand, the high-level national/regional information (e.g. the Pillars of Readiness) will be of interest to those who need to plan at this level, but will be much less relevant to IPC practitioners working on the ground.
The second module on the novel coronavirus looks at first glance to be the most interesting and useful element of this course, but is actually very short and doesn’t contain a lot of useful information. This is because our knowledge and experience of the virus is growing all the time, so this module has dated quickly; for example, it discusses the situation in early February 2020.
The third module addresses IPC practices, explaining the differences between standard and transmission-based precautions and what is required to deal with potential and confirmed COVID-19 patients. Much of the information is generic, but there are signposts to more detailed technical guidance from WHO.
This course could be improved by making it more interactive; the links mentioned in the PowerPoint slides, for example, have to be accessed separately, but they are available on the same page that the video is showing in. There is a verbal description of how to don and doff personal protective equipment, but showing a video or hosting a link to a video would be more useful. There is a discussion board where questions and comments can be posted, and there seems to be a reasonable level of interaction with other learners at the time of writing this review.
Overall, this course is going to be most useful for people who are unfamiliar with the basics of infection control (whether at a local operational level, or a more strategic level) and need to get an understanding of the concepts and requirements involved. There is good access and links to other sources of information.