September 17 is World Patient Safety Day.
First commissioned and organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2019, September 17 is officially recognized as World Patient Safety Day. The purpose of this international initiative is to call on patients, health workers, policy makers, scientists, researchers, professional networks, and the entire health industry to advocate for patient safety and help increase public engagement on important safety issues.
Each year, World Patient Safety Day selects a different theme to spotlight. This year, the WHO is urging individuals to share the following message: “Act now for safe and respectful childbirth.”
According to the WHO, approximately 810 women die every day from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Additionally, more than 6,500 newborns die every day – 47% of all deaths for those under the age of five. So you can understand why this topic is so critical.
The objectives of this year’s World Patient Safety Day include:
- Raising global awareness for the issues of maternal and newborn safety, particularly childbirth
- Engaging stakeholders to adopt effective strategies for improving maternal and newborn safety
- Calling for urgent and sustainable actions by all stakeholders to scale up efforts, increase outreach, and ensure safe maternal and newborn care
- Advocating for the adoption of best practices at the point of care to prevent avoidable risks and harm to all women and newborns during childbirth
At Praxis, not only do we recognize and applaud this year’s World Patient Safety Day theme, but we also continually advocate for safe practices with our research site partners.
If you’d like to learn more about how we work to practice safe study recruitment and retention, read our blog post about it here. And if you’d like to find out more information on World Patient Safety Day – and learn how to get involved – visit patient-safety-day.org.
