Plan your own campaign

This year’s World Patient Safety Day will focus on “Medication Safety”. Help to achieve the campaign’s goals this year by holding your own events and spreading the campaign messages in the lead up to, during and after 17 September. This page gives you some suggestions on how to plan your celebrations. Got an innovative idea for spreading the word? Be creative and plan an event that you feel will make the most impact.

Tips for a successful campaign

• Use the campaign essentials (campaign logos, key messages and campaign materials) available on the WHO website to plan your campaign and reach your campaign objectives based on your national or local context.
• Early planning and inclusion of all partners and stakeholders is key to the success of the campaign.
• Invest in promoting and advertising the day in advance.
• Engage key stakeholders across all levels of the health system, including the public, private and manufacturing sectors, in the planning and observation of the day.
• Use influencers to amplify campaign messages, for example patient representatives, professionals, celebrities, innovators, entrepreneurs, and social media influencers.
• Assess the performance of your campaign and use the information to design next year’s World Patient Safety Day campaign.

Key stakeholders

• Policy-makers and programme managers
• Health care leaders and facility managers
• Health workers
• Professional associations
• Patients and families
• Community leaders and local communities
• Patient safety advocates and representatives
• Regulatory agencies, authorities, accrediting agencies
• Academic and research institutions
• Civil society organizations
• United Nations agencies
• Development partners
• Health insurance companies
• Pharmaceutical industry and manufacturers of medical devices and software
• Media

Activity ideas

1-      Light up a monument

• Identify the monument, building or landmark you would like to light in orange on 17 September and make necessary arrangements with local or national authorities at the earliest opportunity.
• Advertise your illumination.
• Capture and promote the captivating orange monument (s) on your social channels, media and networks.
• Share the photos with WHO at patientsafety@who.int.

Note: In case orange colour is not acceptable in your local setting, please consider lighting up in a different colour, as applicable.

2-      Policy and advocacy activities

• Advocate the adoption of the Medication Without Harm pledges by patients, ministries of health and institutions through the dedicated sign-up pages provided on the campaign website.
• Once you have pledged your support, you can generate an image to share on social media platforms.
• Consider World Patient Safety Day as an opportunity to launch national policies and technical products related to medication safety.
  

3-      Medication safety improvement project

• Initiate a safety and quality improvement project associated with a priority medication safety issue within your institution or facility.
• Celebrate the achievements your team has made on World Patient Safety Day and share your success story with WHO at patientsafety@who.int.
• Identify and acknowledge medication safety champions through events of recognition, such as a “Hall of Fame” or award ceremonies.

4-      Events

• Organize public events such as open days, fairs and exhibitions in your workplace, health care facilities, academic institutions, public sites and community centres.
• Organize technical events at national and subnational levels to raise awareness on medication safety and call for action by all stakeholders.
• Organize musical concerts and sporting events such as awareness walks, marathons, races and virtual races to be streamed across social media platforms and mass media.
• Engage influencers wherever possible to achieve more impact.
• Promote the event on social media, radio, TV, or print or online publications.

5-      Social media

• Seize social media opportunities to raise public awareness of the day.
• Update your social media pages with the official World Patient Safety Day and Medication Without Harm logos.
• Share your activities and use the hashtags #MedicationSafety #WorldPatientSafetyDay and the slogan “Medication Without Harm” in your posts.
• Follow official WHO channels on social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, SnapChat, TikTok and Pinterest) and share WHO’s World Patient Safety Day campaign messages.

6-      Pharmaceutical industry

• Organize activities and events on and around 17 September informing your customers of the role you play in upholding medication safety and how they can contribute to this endeavour.
• Build partnerships with relevant stakeholders to establish safer manufacturing and supply chain management systems.

7-      Visual displays and souvenirs

• Produce and display World Patient Safety Day banners, posters and electronic visual displays to promote the day.
• Produce and distribute souvenirs such as key chains, magnets, stickers, mugs, T-shirts, bags, pins, and postcards to policy-makers, health workers, patients and the local community.
• Create souvenirs that encourage improvement, for instance, a calendar or diary entitled “365 days for medication safety” or “What have you or your team done for medication safety today?”, where you can record medication safety-related contributions.

8-      Media

• Use your media relations to build up public support, assure their commitment and involvement prior to event day, and provide them with information and impactful testimonials by patients and health workers. Make use of publications on the WHO website such as Previous World Patient Safety Days, WHO Global Patient Safety Challenge: Medication Without Harm, and fact sheets on Patient Safety, Medicines and Antimicrobial Resistance.
• Produce television or radio spots promoting medication safety and calling on all stakeholders to commit to Medication Without Harm.

9-      Health care educational institutions and academia

• Contact academic and research institutions and encourage the organization of scientific conferences, webinars, symposia, lectures and seminars.
• Issue special editions of newsletters and journals covering medication safety in preparation for 17 September 2022 and throughout the year until World Patient Safety Day 2023.
• Arrange virtual and in-person student events on the day.
• Invite health workers, patients and families to your events to share their stories.
• Advocate inclusion of medication safety in educational curricula.
• Provide research grants for medication safety and recognize “champions of medication safety” to inspire research in this area.
• Organize quizzes and competitions related to medication safety.