Abstract
Health services are complex work environments, which can at times be hazardous. Unsafe working conditions may lead to attrition of the health workforce. Decent work in the health sector must include workers’ health and well-being, since the quality of the work environment can influence the quality of care provided by health workers. HealthWISE -- a joint ILO/WHO publication -- is a practical, participatory quality improvement tool for health facilities. It encourages managers and staff to work together to improve workplaces and practices. HealthWISE (Work Improvement in Health Services) promotes the application of smart, simple and low-cost solutions leading to tangible benefits for workers and health services, and ultimately for patients. The topics are organized in eight modules addressing occupational safety and health, personnel management and environmental health issues. HealthWISE combines action and learning. The Action Manual helps initiate and sustain changes for improvement, using a checklist as a workplace assessment tool, designed for identifying and prioritizing areas of action. Each of the eight modules illustrates key checkpoints to help guide action. The Trainers’ Guide contains guidance and tools for a training course and is accompanied by a CD-ROM, which includes a sample PowerPoint presentation for each of the training sessions. HealthWISE is designed for use by all who are concerned with improving workplaces in the health sector, including health workers and health-care managers, supervisors, workers’ and employers’ representatives, labour inspectors, occupational health specialists, trainers and educators.