COVID-19 Training for Health Care Workers: Preparedness and Response
A Global Health Worker Training from Project HOPE and the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies at the Watson Institute of Brown University
Project HOPE and the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies at the Watson Institute of Brown University have partnered to deliver comprehensive online COVID-19 training programs for health workers at the frontlines of the crisis.
Available as self-paced eLearning for health care professionals, as well as in a training of trainers curriculum, the materials are offered at no cost, so that individuals, providers and health systems can freely access the content.
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About the COVID-19 eLearning courses
Our COVID-19 eLearning courses are available on disasterready.org; these adaptions of the training curriculum were made possible through funding from Center for Disaster Philanthropy.
Who is the training for?
The primary audience is health workers, public health professionals, and humanitarians seeking a self-paced comprehensive training on COVID-19 they can apply immediately in the workplace.
What is the training?
A curriculum focused on COVID-19 preparedness and response
Brown University faculty and staff with expertise in infectious diseases, emergency care, disaster medicine, medical education, and instructional design have developed a modularized health care worker training in accordance with World Health Organization standards, best practices, and guidelines.
Eight online training modules cover the following topics:
- Biology and pathophysiology
- Infection control and prevention
- Surveillance
- Screening and triage
- Diagnosis and management
- Stabilization and resuscitation
- Medical surge operations planning
- Risk communication and public health messaging
The modules include knowledge checks to reinforce key information. Each module will take approximately 30 minutes to complete and is available on demand. Learn more about each module.
Register for eLearning courses >
Download the COVID-19 training of trainers materials
Who should download the materials?
The primary audience is trainers of health care workers, public health professionals, health care leadership, and key frontline personnel who will be training others.
Qualified health care professionals who complete the training will be able to train other health workers within their networks to respond rapidly and efficiently to the threat of COVID-19 while also protecting their own health.
The downloadable training materials are available in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Arabic, and Russian.
What are the downloadable materials?
The downloadable materials served as the source for the eLearning offered above. The training materials include manuals, slides, videos, instructor-led modules, and simulation, incorporating quizzes, exams, and practicums to measure and reinforce core competencies. Pre- and post-tests, as well as instructor and course feedback forms, are also included.
Complete our brief online form to request to access the COVID-19 training curriculum materials >
COVID-19 training modules content
Biology, Pathophysiology, and Transmission Mechanisms of COVID-19
Objective: Attain sufficient understanding relating to the biology, pathophysiology and transmission mechanism of SARS-CoV-2, and the associated case definition and epidemiology of COVID-19.
Infection Prevention and Control
Objective: Gain functional understanding of infection prevention and control (IPC) practices in general and specifically for COVID-19 outbreak response, with proficiency across varying IPC situations including individual patients and providers, facilities and community settings. Inclusive within IPC is the use of specialized equipment for prevention of transmission and protocols for care delivery, transmission mitigation and isolation.
Surveillance (Passive and Active Contact Tracing)
Objective: Understand the goals and approaches of disease surveillance used in health facilities and communities as they pertain to the COVID-19 outbreak. While also attaining understanding and functional capabilities with case reporting tools.
Screening and Triage
Objective: Understand and apply principles of screening and triage in health care delivery to be able to appropriately identify those in need of evaluation and possible treatments for COVID-19.
Diagnosis and Management
Objective: Understand and be able to apply protocols for the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 in health facilities and community settings.
Stabilization and Resuscitation
Objective: Know the appropriate life-saving actions to stabilize and/or begin treatment of critically ill patients that are at risk of having COVID-19. Understand the use of IPC measures and how they are applied in patients with suspected or confirmed critical illness from COVID-19.
Medical Surge Operations Planning
Objective: Identify and understand characteristics of health facilities operations as they pertain to readiness and care delivery in the setting of the COVID-19 outbreak. Understand the potential for and ways to address over capacity due to surges in patient volumes which can occur in outbreak situations.
Risk Communication and Public Health Messaging
Objective: Understand the importance of, and approaches to, health communication messaging in outbreak response as it pertains to COVID-19.
Management of Severe Illness and Acute Respiratory Failure
Objective: Refamiliarize healthcare providers, who primarily work in non-acute care settings, with the skills needed to handle the severe illness and respiratory challenges caused by COVID-19.
Note: Available only in downloadable training materials
If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected].