A pandemic is defined as a disease outbreak that spreads throughout the world. Pandemics are caused by infectious diseases that transmit easily and quickly, causing ill health and death, as well as many wider effects on individuals, communities, organisations and societies.
The Pandemic Awareness course explains terms such as endemic, epidemic and pandemic, which describe the state of a disease outbreak. It also highlights some well known pandemics in history and the negative impact they have had. As our knowledge of infectious diseases and pandemics grow, it is important to recognise facts from myths. The course provides up-to-date information and debunks some common myths.
There are many ways that infectious diseases can spread. But this course focuses on how to prevent the spread of contagious diseases that transmit from person to person through respiratory droplets, such as Covid-19 and influenza. Diseases that have different methods of transmission are mentioned, but are not the main focus.
The course sets out what individuals can do to prevent the spread of a disease, for example, practising good respiratory hygiene, washing hands regularly, maintaining social distancing and wearing a face covering.
One of the biggest lessons of the Covid-19 pandemic has been the need to to consider mental health and wellbeing. The course provides tips to help you take care of your own and others’ mental health, and advice on how to get support if you or someone else is struggling.
The course informs employees about the organisational control measures they can expect to see in their workplaces during a pandemic, for example:
- arrangements to maintain social distancing
- face coverings or PPE requirements
- robust cleaning and disinfecting routines
- provision of more waste bins, tissues, soap, hand sanitisers and cleaning supplies
- regular communication with staff about health, safety and wellbeing concerns
There is information about how employees should respond if they develop symptoms of, or suspect they might have been exposed to, the disease while at work or at home.
Like all EssentialSkillz courses, our Pandemic Awareness course can be customised to meet your needs, enabling your workforce to understand the specific policies and procedures developed for your organisation. A designated course administrator can edit the text and images within the course, and link to organisation-specific documentation, all at no extra cost.
