TNMU and Akkon University of Human Sciences (Germany) Have Launched a Series of Webinars on Fighting COVID-19 and Responding of Health Care Systems in Ukraine and Around the World

The health care system of Ukraine is in transition and is still struggling with high rates of non-communicable and infectious diseases. In addition to the already critical state of the health care system and insufficient medical care, Ukraine has been hard affected by the coronavirus pandemic. At present, the health care system in Ukraine is in a tough economic situation and is experiencing a significant strain on finances and human resources due to the high level of infection in both urban and rural areas.

For mobilizing the efforts of national and global health care systems, cross-sectoral and inter-institutional cooperation is important that involves experience of other countries and using best international practices to fight the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thus, TNMU in cooperation with the Akkon University of Human Sciences (Berlin, Germany) and the Institute for Research in International Assistance (IRIA) (Germany), represented by Professor Timo Ulrichs, the Director of the IRIA, Professor of the Akkon University of Human Sciences, and Gabi Feldmann, Project Coordinator and Research Fellow of the IRIA, IRIA, Akkon University of Human Sciences, organized a series of webinars on coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), COVID-19 and the health care system in Ukraine:

December 22, 2020 – Public health aspects and epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2

January 27, 2021 – Diagnostics and treatment options of COVID-19

February 17, 2021 – Management of SARS-CoV-2 outbreak/epidemic in Ukraine

The materials on the health care systems in the world and Ukraine as well as reviews of best practices and results attained for controlling the COVID-19 pandemic are presented during these webinars.

The first webinar on Public health aspects and epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 was held on December 22, 2020. The specialists from the Lviv Regional Center for Public Health Mariana Sluzhynska and Khrystyna Pak took part in the webinar. TNMU was represented by experts of the Department of Public Health and Healthcare Management, the Department of General Hygiene and Ecology, the Department of Infectious Diseases with Epidemiology, Dermatology and Venerology, the Department of Functional and Laboratory Diagnostics, the Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive-Care Medicine, 1^st– and 2^nd-year students of the Faculty of Medicine, in specialty Masters of Public Health, post-graduate students of TNMU and students of the scientific circle “Public Health and Social Medicine”.

Professor Anna Saturska, the Head of the Department of Public Health and Health Management of TNMU was the moderator.

Professor Timo Ulrichs, the Director of the IRIA, Professor of the Akkon University of Human Sciences, Berlin, Germany, having experience as a WHO expert, made a presentation, in which epidemiological dynamics of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 spread, incidence, morbidity and mortality rates, features of virus testing and mass testing were presented. He shared the experience gained in conducting pandemic response measures, monitoring and surveillance, outbreak control, tracking contacts in the world and European countries, in particular, in Germany.

Khrystyna Pak, the Economist of the Lviv Regional Center for Public Health, not only analyzed in detail the epidemiological situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine and, in particular, in the Western region, but also conducted a comparative analysis of epidemiological trends at the global, national and regional levels, which the health care system in Ukraine is currently facing in the context of combating the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Halyna Tsymbaliuk, the Head of the Center for Medical Simulation of TNMU, expert of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine in emergency medicine, Assistant Professor of the Department of Disaster and Military Medicine of TNMU presented a report on “Emergency medical care in the COVID-19 pandemic” and shared the experience of emergency medical care delivery in cases of uncertain diagnosis of COVID-19 in patients, development of online courses, workshops for emergency care medical workers at both regional and national levels, development of an algorithm for interviewing of a patient with suspected COVID-19 by a dispatcher.

The participants of the webinar were also involved into discussions of vaccination, mass testing and solving the problems of medical care providing to COVID-19 patients.

All participants of the webinar “Public health aspects and epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2” received certificates of participation.