Project: MOMENTUM Routine Immunization Transformation and Equity (M-RITE)
Project component: Healthcare
Project objective: The project aims to strengthen routine immunization programs to overcome barriers that reduce immunization rates. The project provides technical support for vaccination against coronavirus infection in the republic, as well as updates of curricula in medical universities on the importance of vaccination against COVID-19 and interpersonal communication of the population and health workers, training programs on interpersonal communication on vaccination issues to provide up-to-date information on coronavirus infection.
The period of KGMA's participation in the project: February 03 - March 31, 2023.
The name of the project component for KSMU: Development of the curriculum of the elective course "COVID-19: vaccination and communication skills in a pandemic" for 1st-year post-graduate students of all specialties.
Component tasks:
1. Evaluation of existing training programs related to the epidemiology of coronavirus infection and vaccination of orCOVID-19;
2. Develop sections on epidemiology and immunoprophylaxis of the training course on coronavirus infection and vaccination against COVID-19;
3. Training course on coronavirus infection and vaccination against COVID-19, approved by the educational and methodological profile committee.
Funding Party: USAID
Grant holder: KSMA
Project Description:
The world experience of healthcare in the fight against infectious diseases has shown that vaccination of the population is a powerful means of regulating the epidemic process! with many infections. Each of the infections in the pre-vaccination period caused significant economic damage and was characterized by high mortality. With the introduction of vaccination into the practice of healthcare, the intensity of the epidemic process has changed; the incidence rate has decreased to sporadic. Despite the obvious successes of healthcare in the fight against infectious morbidity, according to many authors, the possibility of activating the epidemic process and increasing morbidity persists to this day: an example is the development of the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020 to the present, requiring an effective adequate solution.
To date, according to the Center for Systems Sciences and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, more than 676 million cases of COVID-19 have been registered worldwide on 10.03.2023, of which 6.89 million deaths have been reported to date. Since the start of vaccination, more than 13.3 billion people have been vaccinated worldwide (https://coronavirus.ihu.edu/map.html ). According to the Ministry of Health of the Kyrgyz Republic, as of 10.03.2023, 206708 thousand confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 2991 deaths were recorded.
The M-RITE USAID project in the Kyrgyz Republic is aimed at strengthening routine immunization programs to overcome barriers that reduce immunization rates. The project provides technical support for vaccination against coronavirus infection in the republic, as well as updates of curricula in medical universities on the importance of vaccination against COVID-19 and interpersonal communication of the population and health workers, training programs on interpersonal communication on vaccination issues to provide up-to-date information on coronavirus infection.
The relevance of the elective course "COVID-19: vaccination and communication skills in a pandemic" for residents is due to the need to train healthcare professionals in the skills of organizing and conducting vaccination in COVID-19, as well as interpersonal relationships in an emergency event. Residents are almost ready-made specialists and in 1-2 years they will already enroll in healthcare organizations and will have knowledge and skills on COVID-19, vaccination and interpersonal communication.
Report on the work done:
Consultant's full name: Zhainagul Isakova
Category (and level) of technical work: National Consultant
Place(s) where the consultant is based: I.K. Akhunbayev Kyrgyz State Medical Academy, Department of General and Clinical Epidemiology
Dates of consultations: February 03 - March 31, 2023
Number of days: 30 days
The name of the intervention: Development of the curriculum of the elective course "COVID-19: vaccination and communication skills in a pandemic" for 1st-year post-graduate students of all specialties.
On December 2, 2022, the first meeting was held with the participation of employees of the healthcare component of the USAID M-RITE project and the staff of the KSMU headed by Vice-Rector G.A. Dzhumalieva. At the meeting, it was decided to create a working group on cooperation within the framework of the USAID M-RITE project in order to update training programs on vaccination against COVID-19 and interpersonal communication skills in line with the global challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On December 15, 2022, KGMA Order No. 465 was issued on the establishment of a working group on cooperation within the framework of the USAID M-RITE project, which included 10 KGMA employees.
Achievements:
Before starting the development of the curriculum "COVID-19: vaccination and communication skills in a pandemic", consultant Isakova Zh.T. conducted an audit of curricula in the discipline "Epidemiology", which is taught to students in the specialties "Medical prevention", "Medical care", "Pediatrics", "Higher Nursing education", as well as residents in the specialty "Epidemiology" and in the content of which there are topics under the section "Immunoprophylaxis". Also, during the development, a detailed literature review was conducted with an evidence base on the epidemiology and immunoprophylaxis of coronavirus infection (COVID-19). A detailed literature search was conducted on immunization against coronavirus infection in all available databases that have an evidence base.
During the revision of the curricula and the study of their content, it was revealed that they reflect more general issues, such as the organization and routine routine of preventive vaccinations of the Kyrgyz Republic, as well as vaccination of infections that are carried out for epidemiological indications, such as influenza, rabies, brucellosis, etc., since coronavirus infection is a relative new infection and has taken the pandemic nature of the spread throughout the world and vaccination is one of the instruments of influence in the fight against it. And at the moment, the study of the correct organization, planning and implementation of vaccination against COVID-19 is very timely and relevant has served as an impetus for the development of this curriculum.
According to the consultant's terms of reference, the term for the development and implementation of the curriculum was 30 days calendar days.