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Webinar: Patient Safety Books for Children

Webinar Report: Patient Safety Books for Children

Date: August 28, 2025 • Organized by: World Patients Alliance (WPA) in collaboration with the Elsevier Foundation

Overview

WPA hosted a focused webinar to introduce the Patient Safety Books for Children a growing series that helps children understand core safety topics with simple stories, diverse characters, and practical tips. The session featured a walkthrough of the books, a live demo of the new audio versions, and a panel Q&A on implementation in schools, clinics, and communities. AI-powered interpretation was available in 50+ languages to ensure accessibility.

Objectives

• Present the children’s book series and its learning outcomes.
• Demonstrate the audio versions and discuss use cases where literacy is a barrier.
• Share practical guidance for adoption by patient groups, schools, and health facilities.

Speakers and Roles

Highlights from Presentations

Why books for children?

Helen Haskell outlined the rationale: early, age-appropriate education helps build lifelong safety habits. Patient safety should start where children learn home, schools, and clinics.

Inside the series

Laís Junqueira introduced the Doctor Safety universe stories that show everyday dilemmas, a turning point through knowledge, and practical actions (e.g., hand hygiene, visiting the doctor, antibiotics, injections). The series embraces representation across regions and cultures and is guided by an editorial board including Helen Haskell, Hussain Jafri, Regina Kamoga, Cristiane Tavares, Tiago Dalcin, Laís Junqueira, and Pedro de Luna, with support from the Elsevier Foundation team.

Key design principles:

• Simple narratives tied to real behaviours (e.g., how and why to wash hands).
• Positive role models (Doctor Safety and the “Safety League”).
• Materials suitable for classrooms, waiting rooms, and community sessions.

Audio books: improving access

Rida Viljoen demonstrated the audio versions and explained how they support families with limited time or literacy. Audio helps children follow stories, repeat key steps, and learn together with caregivers. Use cases include clinic queues, school health classes, and at-home learning.

Panel Discussion, what it takes to scale

Moderated by Helen Haskell, the panel covered:

Adoption pathways: integrate books into school health lessons; use in paediatric clinics and vaccination days; partner with patient groups for community sessions.

Equity and reach: pair e-books with audio and printable flipbooks; plan for translations and local illustrations.

Measurement: track engagement (downloads, class sessions held), basic knowledge checks with children, and feedback from teachers and parents.

Key Takeaways

Start Early: Teaching safety concepts in childhood makes safer behaviours stick.

Keep it Practical: Show “what to do” (e.g., steps for handwashing) in story form.

Design for Inclusion: Use audio, simple language, and culturally relevant characters.
Enable Easy Rollout: Offer ready-to-use packs for schools and clinics, plus guidance for facilitators.

Next Steps for Partners

• Use the e-books and audio versions in your programs and share feedback.
• Translate/adapt with local partners while preserving core safety messages.
• Report basic usage metrics to WPA to inform future improvements.

Acknowledgments

WPA thanks the speakers and panellists, the Elsevier Foundation for collaboration on the series, and the global community.

Speakers

Andrew Spiegel, Esq.

Andrew Spiegel has nearly two decades of experience in the patient advocacy arena. Spiegel co-founded the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, now the leading US based national patient advocacy organization dedicated to colon cancer. Mr. Spiegel, an attorney, besides being a co-founder of the organization and longtime board member of the Alliance became CEO in January of 2008 and he ran the CCA for nearly 5 years, before undertaking his next venture, the Global Colon Cancer Association (GCCA). Currently, Spiegel is co-founder and executive director of the GCCA, an international patient advocacy organization. This organization is an international community of nearly 50 colon cancer patient advocacy organizations and stakeholders dedicated to end the worldwide suffering of the 3rd leading cause of cancer deaths. In addition to his work in the colon cancer community, Spiegelis an active advocate for health care policies both in the US and now worldwide. He is a co-founder and currently serves on the steering committee of the Alliance for Safe Biologic Medicines (ASBM). He is on the Board of Directors, and in December 2014 was elected to Chair, of the Digestive Disease National Coalition (DDNC),a founding member of the Coalition to Increase Clinical Trial Participation. In addition to his work in the colon cancer community, Spiegelis an active advocate for health care policies both in the US and now worldwide. He is a co-founder and currently serves on the steering committee of the Alliance for Safe Biologic Medicines (ASBM). He is on the Board of Directors, and in December 2014 was elected to Chair, of the Digestive Disease National Coalition (DDNC),a founding member of the Coalition to Increase Clinical Trial Participation. Spiegel is a 1986 graduate of Temple University in Philadelphia where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science with minors in English and Philosophy. He is a 1989 graduate of the Widener University School of Law. After working for a Philadelphia litigation firm, Spiegel opened his own law firm in 1995.

Helen Haskell, MA

Helen Haskell is president of the US nonprofit patient organizations Mothers Against Medical Error and Consumers Advancing Patient Safety. She is an Institute for Healthcare Improvement senior fellow and a board member of the Patient Safety Action Network and the International Society for Rapid Response Systems. She is a recently retired board member of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and a previous chair of the WHO Patients for Patient Safety Advisory Group and the Patient Engagement Committee of the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine. She works with the World Health Organization on patient safety and patient engagement and with SIDM, AHRQ and others on diagnostic issues. Helen’s goal since the medical error death of her young son Lewis has been to enhance the patient contribution to safety and quality in healthcare. She has written or co-authored dozens of articles, book chapters, and educational materials on patient engagement in safety, quality, and diagnosis, including a co-edited textbook of case studies from the patient perspective. Her son Lewis’s story has been featured in educational programs and videos including Transparent Health’s full-length Lewis Blackman Story. Helen holds a bachelor’s degree in Classical Studies from Duke University and a master’s degree in Anthropology from Rice University in the United States.

Inge Dhamanti

Inge Dhamanti is the Head of Center of Excellence for Patient Safety and Quality, Universitas Airlangga. Dr. Inge is an associate professor at Department of Health Policy and Administration, Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia. She founded the Center for Patient Safety Research (Pusat Riset Keselamatan Pasien) in 2018, the country’s first non-governmental organization dedicated to improving patient safety through education and research, and it was recently designated as Center of Excellence for Patient Safety and Quality. The Center is actively involved in patient safety social media campaigns, training and capacity building, and educating patients and their families. Dr. Inge is currently the Project Investigator for several research projects focusing on open disclosure, the development of EMR-integrated primary care EMRs with trigger tools and CPOE, the analysis of hospital national surveillance data, the development of a web-based platform for hospital readiness analysis and other projects in the safety and quality domains. Dr. Inge also volunteers to teach patient safety classes in order to improve the public’s and health workers’ knowledge of patient safety and quality. She is also a member of the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua) and a Global Action for Leaders and Learning Organizations on Patient Safety (GALLOPS) expert, as well as a member of the International Editorial Board of the Journal of Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality, based in Singapore. She also contributed to the review of the WHO Patient Safety Storytelling Toolkit.

Hussain Jafri

Hussain Jafri is the CEO of the World Patients Alliance. He is also the Secretary General of Alzheimer’s Pakistan, the national association of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias that Hussain founded in 1999 as a result of his experiences as a caregiver for his grandfather with Alzheimer’s Disease. He also serves as an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Patient Safety Research, University of Kalisz, Poland, where he contributes to advancing academic work in patient safety and healthcare quality. He has been very active in the field of patient safety and served as the Vice Chair of the Advisory Group of WHO’s Patients for Patient Safety Program (PFPS). Hussain also founded the Pakistan Patient Safety Initiative and has led several patient safety efforts across the country. The Government of Punjab nominated him as the Provincial Focal Person on Patient Safety & Quality, assigning him responsibility for developing patient safety and quality services in the province’s health sector. He has extensive experience as a volunteer in the social sector and has worked with government, national, and international nonprofit organizations. Hussain is a member of the Person and Family Centred Advisory Council (PFCAC) of the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua) and a taskforce member of the Global Alliance of Partners for Pain Advocacy (GAPPA). He is also an experienced speaker and resource person, having presented nationally and internationally on patient safety, person-centred healthcare, caregiving, advocacy, partnership in health, and organizational development. Hussain holds a PhD from the University of Leeds, UK, focused on the prevention of genetic disorders. He previously served as Director General of the Punjab Thalassemia & Other Genetic Disorders Prevention & Research Institute and has published several papers in internationally indexed journals.

Rida Viljoen

Rida is the Patient Empowerment and Advocacy Lead for SACFA and a seasoned life coach, dedicated to transforming both individual lives and organisational approaches to patient care. With an innovative and caring perspective, she champions new ways of thinking about patient safety, ensuring every voice is heard and empowered. Rida’s mission remains clear: to inspire a culture of safety, empathy, and empowerment for all.

J S Arora

J.S. Arora is the General Secretary of National Thalassemia Welfare Society & Federation of Indian Thalassemia. He is a Patients for Patients Safety (PFPS) Champion since 2007 and is also serving as a member of the Advisory Group of WHO’s Patients for Patients Safety Program since 2014. Dr. Arora is the founder member of the Indian Alliance of Patient Groups as well the founding trustee of the Genomics And Public Health Foundation. He has previously served as Coordinator of Thalassemia Cell, DHS, Delhi as well as member of Hospital Advisory Committee, DDU Hospital, Delhi and the State VAT Advisory Committee, Delhi. He is also a member of State Blood Transfusion Council. He is the author of Florilegium of Thalassemia and co-author of several publications including a chapter in the postgraduate textbook Pediatrics and Care & Control of Thalassemia: In the New Millennium” 2000.

Lais Junqueira

Lais is the Quality, Patient Safety and Innovation Manager and member of the Clinical Best Practice Council at Elsevier. She provides strategic counsel to organizations on how evidence-based information and technology can improve patient safety and clinical outcomes and how evidence-based solutions can empower healthcare professionals on their path to delivering high quality and safer care through innovative solutions. Lais currently holds positions at the Brazilian Society of Quality of Care and Patient Safety (SOBRASP) as a member of the scientific council, member of the Diversity and Equity team, member of the Emerging Diseases team and producer and director of the Podcast ‘Pausa pro Cafe’ which discusses best practices for quality of care and patient safety. Lais is an honorary member of the Patient Safety Foundation in Chile, an associate member of the International Association of Innovation Professionals, Certified Six Sigma Black Belt and holds an MBA in Health Management and Innovation. Some of her work can be seen on the publications: book chapter ‘Safe Systems for safe Maternal and Newborn care’, whitepaper ‘Critical thinking skills for nurses in the age of healthcare technology’, whitepaper ‘Journey towards zero harm – Sustaining the delivery of quality of care through system nudges’, article in Revista Chilena de Seguridad del Paciente ‘Maximise quality and patient safety through rapid access to current, credible, evidence-based practice’, and whitepaper ‘Information: Empowering Healthcare Professionals in Fostering Safe Systems’.

Date

Aug 28 2025

Expired!

Time

All Day