Qatar University Health Cluster’s (QU-Health) Continuing Professional Development (CPD) unit hosted an interactive webinar on ‘Vaccine Coverage and Community Health,’ encompassing the principles of vaccines and immunisation, vaccine-preventable diseases and the Qatar Immunisation Programme.
The session targeted at apprising healthcare professionals about the role of vaccinations in preventing the spread of disease and protecting public health and raise awareness of the comprehensive national immunisation programme that supports these efforts.
Vaccinations are considered one of the most successful interventions in modern medical practice; they improve the overall quality of life and prevent avoidable death and suffering. Qatar follows the World Health Organisation’s vaccine schedule in offering an expanded immunisation programme and have developed an advanced and modern child immunisation programme, available free to all residents.
The National Immunisation technical advisory group is also constantly reviewing and making adjustments to the vaccination schedule in accordance with the trends of disease prevention in the country.
Dr Susu Zughaier, associate professor of Microbiology and Immunology at College of Medicine, QU-Health, explained that “during the Covid-19 pandemic, it is important that all healthcare professionals have a fundamental understanding of the principles of immunisation. There is so much in the media regarding the development of vaccines and this can lead to public anxiety - it is therefore essential that healthcare professionals are informed to respond to questions and help reassure the patients they care for.”
The event was arranged by QU-Health in collaboration with experts from the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) as part of their continuing professional development programme. The unit works in partnership with both health and educational institutions in Qatar to initially investigate the training needs of the health workforce; and secondly deliver targeted training to address these needs.
Dr Khalid Elawad, health protection manager at PHCC, presented Qatar’s continued efforts to enhance the national immunisation programme.
“The webinar demonstrated the significant benefits of partnership between educational institutions and service providers. This collaboration helps in building an informed healthcare system that includes governmental, private and semi-private establishments, which will lead to a stronger immunisation programme in Qatar. These efforts consequently enhance patient safety and reduce the overall burden of vaccine preventable diseases in Qatar creating a healthier population.”
The CPD unit in QU-Health has been working hard to harness the efforts of local experts to work together in developing further educational and training activities. A six-part Research Skills Webinar series will begin today which will be accessible to a global audience on YouTube.
“We, as CPD providers have a significant responsibility to ensure that our healthcare workers are provided with convenient means to access the most relevant educational and training to support their practice in these challenging times,” QU-Health CPD co-ordinator Dr Zachariah Nazar said.
Participants at the QU Health webinar.
