On April 9, 2020, the webinar on occupational health and safety of medical staff in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic co-hosted by the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association and the World Health Organization was successfully held. Mr.Ren Minghui, the Assistant Director-General of the World Health Organization, Prof. Liang Xiaofeng, the Vice President and Secretary-General of the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association, Mr. Ivan Ivanov, a senior official from the Department of Occupational and Workplace Health of the World Health Organization, and Prof. Zhang Min, deputy director of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health of the School of Population Medicine and Public Health of the Peking Union Medical College, attended the webinar.In addition, 666 experts and scholars in the field of occupational health participated in this conference through the ZOOM video conference system.
Mr. Ren Minghui, Assistant Director-General of WHO, delivered an opening speech
Mr. Ren Minghui emphasized in his speech that medical staff accounted for less than 3% of the global population, but they account for about 14% of the number of COVID-19 infections, and even as high as 35% in some countries. In addition, medical staff are under tremendous psychological pressure. About one-quarter of medical staff suffer from depression and anxiety, and one-third of them suffer from insomnia.Medical staff should have the same right to work in a decent, healthy and safe environment. The safety of medical staff also affects the safety of patients. Therefore, the World Health Organization calls on all countries to formulate and implement occupational health plans for medical workers to ensure the physical and mental health and well-being of medical workers.
Prof. Liang Xiaofeng, Vice President and Secretary-General of CPMA made the speech (upper left)
Prof. Liang Xiaofeng said in his opening speech that In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, medical staff are an important force in safeguarding people's health and advancing the construction of a healthy China.Their occupational health and safety are not only the rights of workers, but also a prerequisite for them to treat patients and save lives.Therefore, the occupational health and safety of medical staff need to receive more attention.
Ivan Ivanov, the senior official from the Department of Occupational and Workplace Health of the World Health Organization, made a report
Mr. Ivan Ivanov, the senior official of the Department of Occupational and Workplace Health of the World Health Organization, introduced the Temporary technical guidelines for the occupational health and safety of medical staff under the COVID-19 epidemic issued by the World Health Organization and the International Labor Organization on February 2 this year. He highlighted the guidelines' key recommendations, applicable resources and relevant implementation tools
Prof. Zhang Min from Peking Union Medical College gave a report
Professor Zhang Min, the deputy director of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Population Medicine and Public Health, Peking Union Medical College, participated in the preparation of the Guide throughout the process. Prof. Zhang shared from three aspects which are the history of occupational health protection for medical workers in China, enlightenment of Guide to China and China's efforts to realize the sustainable development of health protection work for medical staff. Professor Zhang Min used vivid and real cases to tell the Chinese story and provided experience for the world from the Chinese perspective.
Mr. Jiang Xiaopeng, Project Officer of the World Health Organization China Office, presided over the interactive Q&A
The interactive Q&A session was hosted by Mr. Jiang Xiaopeng, the project officer of the World Health Organization Representative Office in China. He and the two professors had an in-depth discussion on the health protection work of medical staff in the future.
Finally, Professor Zhang Min expressed his vision for the health protection of medical staff. This webinar ended successfully. Under the guidance of the World Health Organization, the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association will explore more opportunities to host relevant seminars and contribute to the realization of the United Nations sustainable development health goals.
