To improve infection prevention and control (IPC) practices along with water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programmes in Ukraine, WHO has developed 2 innovative board games. These games aim to enhance the understanding and application of IPC precautions and build climate-resilient WASH programmes among health-care providers, particularly in resource-limited settings.
"WHO continuously supports Ukrainian health and care workers in enhancing their knowledge and skills. By introducing board games as an innovative education method, we aim to not only make the learning process engaging, but also to ensure that critical IPC and WASH interventions are understood and implemented effectively across health-care facilities in Ukraine," said Dr Jarno Habicht, WHO Representative in Ukraine.
An innovative training approach
Ukrainian health-care facilities face challenges in implementing standard precautions for all patients, as well as transmission-based precautions to prevent and control the spread of diseases through the air or through contact. These challenges often emerge from insufficient knowledge among health and care workers and may be amplified in the absence of minimal infrastructure, often encountered in limited resource settings.
As extreme weather conditions occur more frequently, there is an increasing risk of health systems and facilities ceasing to function as a result. Thus, the ability to ensure sustainable and resilient WASH programmes during extreme weather conditions is important. The new board games, developed by the WHO Country Office in Ukraine, provide a hands-on, interactive approach to learning. These games simulate realistic scenarios where players must apply IPC and WASH measures effectively to minimize infection risks.
The board games enhance health and care workers’ knowledge and skills in improving water and sanitation capacities as well as waste and electricity management at health-care facilities. Instead of learning through traditional lectures, involving little interaction and not being tailored to a specific context, health and care workers can improve their knowledge and skills in a practical and insightful manner.
Tabletop exercise in Ukraine
In 2023, the WHO Country Office in Ukraine conducted a tabletop exercise with 32 IPC specialists using the board games. During the exercise, participants were guided through different scenarios, which required complying with and implementing WHO recommendations for standard and transmission-based precautions, while allowing participants to design different departmental floor-plan setups and define adequate staff/patient ratios and access to IPC supplies.
Participants responded by saying that the rules were clear and that playing the game encouraged decision-making. 90.6% of participants noted that the simulation exercise improved their knowledge of standard and transmission-based precautions and the management of health-care-associated infection outbreaks. Additionally, 75% said that playing the game improved their skills in resources management during IPC programme implementation.
Among the participants, 29 IPC specialists rated the board game simulation exercise as “great”, 3 as “good”, and everyone mentioned that they would recommend the tabletop exercise to their colleagues. Building on this success, the WHO Country Office in Ukraine is currently developing additional games with a focus on antimicrobial stewardship and universal health coverage.