1st Communicable Diseases Educators Course
Dr. Abdul Hakim Al Thaqafi, Associate Executive Director of Infection Prevention and Control Department stated, during the closing ceremony of the 1st Communicable Diseases Educators Course in the kingdom, that communicable diseases (infectious) are one of the most vital causes of serious diseases and death in the world, therefore, prevention and health promotion act as the cornerstone for controlling such diseases and reducing their impact, mostly through correct knowledge of how these diseases spread and the prevention methods. It has been observed in the recent period, especially with the emergence of some infectious disease outbreaks such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus (MERS-CoV) and the Ebola hemorrhagic fever (Ebola HF, that there is a high demand for health cadres trained in the field of communicable diseases to provide health information as well as patients and public awareness, which will have a significant impact on the prevention of this type of diseases along with reducing the anxiety affecting the community.
The closing ceremony was attended by Dr. Tawfeik Al Yafi, the Deputy Executive Director of Clinical Services and the course which lasted for three weeks was organized by King Abdulaziz Medical City - Jeddah represented by the Department of Infection Prevention and Control, in collaboration with the Academic Affairs at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences - Jeddah.
Furthermore, Dr. Fayssal Farahat, Public Health Consultant pointed out that this training course included 70 lectures and a workshop with the participation of 25 male and female lecturers from King Abdulaziz Medical City, Ministry of Health, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital as well as several participants from various health sectors from Jeddah, Al Madinah Al Munawwarah and the Eastern Sector.
Dr. Fayssal also stated that the lectures presented 6 main topics which are: Epidemiology of communicable diseases particularly communicable diseases of special concern and vaccine preventable diseases and vaccination, Infection control and environmental health, Communicable diseases health education and communication, Communicable diseases evidence based health care as well as Communicable diseases data collection and presentation.
In addition, Dr. Majid Al Shamrani, Deputy Associate Executive Director of Infection Prevention and Control Department pointed out that health education a top priority for health care workers as a basis for disease prevention and control, and health education has a set of rules and skills that need to be acquired by healthcare specialists who trained at the highest levels, hence the motivation for implementing these types of courses to further build the capacity of health workers in the field of health education of communicable diseases.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that this course was accredited with 30 CME Hours by the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCHS).