Virtual Course for Managers of the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) – Surveillance and Information Systems

Introduction to the course

Over the past decade, immunization coverage in the Region of the Americas has declined for several vaccine-preventable diseases (VPD). The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these trends, and the risk of VPD outbreaks in the Region is at its highest point in 30 years. As countries turn their attention to restoring the performance of their national immunization programmes, they need updated training materials to ensure that all managers and vaccinators of the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) are familiar with the signs and symptoms of each VPD and know the definition of a suspected case for immediate notification and sample collection. The goal is to increase the sensitivity of the national surveillance system to detect and notify suspected cases, investigate them appropriately and prevent outbreaks.

This virtual course for EPI managers in the Americas provides up-to-date information on epidemiological and laboratory surveillance activities for the detection, notification and response to cases of VPD. The course includes a case study on the implementation of surveillance activities for a case of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) in the context of polio eradication initiative.

Purpose

Provide essential up-to-date information on surveillance operations that national EPI staff at all levels must implement to ensure the timely detection, notification, and response to VPD outbreaks.

Competencies

The course provides the opportunity to achieve the following competencies:

• Implement epidemiological surveillance operations to intervene in the face of VPD outbreaks within the framework of the Expanded Program on Immunization.
• Participate in the process of detection of a suspected case of VPD, immediate notification and sample collection, in compliance with established criteria, standards, and procedures.
• Adapt professional activities according to the role played in the detection, notification and response to VPD cases.
• Promote the training and updating of healthcare workers on the epidemiological surveillance system of VPDs.

Learning Objectives

• Identify the components of an epidemiological surveillance system.
• Know the different types of epidemiological surveillance.
• Understand the steps to be implemented in the investigation of a suspected case of VPD, as part of a surveillance system.
• Review laboratory diagnostic procedures for different VPDs.
• Identify required surveillance activities, through the analysis of specific case studies.

This course is developed for:

• Managers of national immunization programs in the Americas.
• Health professionals in primary healthcare services, including immunization services.
• Healthcare professionals who are entering the workforce or who need to update their technical skills.

Course structure

• Module 1: Introduction to epidemiological surveillance
• Module 2: Types of surveillance
• Module 3: Investigation of a suspected case
• Module 4: Laboratory surveillance
• Module 5: Information systems
• Module 6: Case study on AFP surveillance

Workload

The course is available on the Virtual Campus for Public Health of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Since it is a self-paced course, participants can determine their time and moments of study. The estimated time for the completion of all the modules and the final evaluation is 7 hours.

Assessment and certification

During the modules, exercises will be proposed to allow you to review the contents. These will be a practice for the final evaluation, which will be available upon completion of all the modules of the course. The final assessment contains 30 multiple-choice or true/false questions. You must achieve 70% of correct answers to pass. Participants who meet the course requirements and complete the Virtual Campus Quality Survey will be able to download their PAHO-issued certificate of completion.