Public Health Pre-Deployment Course (PHPD)
Contents and methods
The Course will be organized in modules of:
Health in the broader humanitarian context
This module introduces/updates participants on the international humanitarian system, guiding principles and laws, and trends in humanitarian assistance; and the humanitarian reforms, key pillars and mechanisms for joint action. It also looks into the public health sector players and their response in emergencies, the WHO roles and functions, as well as explore key issues and realities in the field.
Public health issues in emergencies
This highlights key public health areas and cross-cutting humanitarian issues applied in different scenarios, broadly categorized into acute-onset natural disasters, technological emergencies and complex emergencies. It provides emergency health managers with tools and strategies that enable them to identify and prioritize life-saving public health interventions at different phases of a given disaster, emergency or crisis situation. These tools include project planning and resource mobilization processes for filling gaps in health services brought about by these events.
Operational and personal effectiveness
This introduces participants on security and safety aspects during field mission; the measures to take to ensure readiness and good health during the entire field mission (including stress management). It also provides tips on how to communicate public health risks and in dealing with the media in emergencies, as well as orients on telecommunication, computing and personal equipment provided to deployed teams.
The Course is geared towards adult learning and uses participatory methods as much as possible; didactic lectures and presentations are accompanied by discussions, debates, group work, video discussions demonstrations, practical sessions, small and large group exercises, role-playing and simulation. Towards the end of the Course, participants will be exposed to a two-day field simulation exercise. This provides participants with an opportunity to apply learned knowledge and skills in a series of emergency-like scenarios.