Program duration: 01/01/2005 - 31/12/2008

European Training of Health Professionals on Rapid Response to Health Threats – ETHREAT

European Commission: Public Health Programme 2004

The project's aim was to plan and develop an educational package containing the knowledge and training material necessary to empower European health professionals, including armed forces health personnel, to rapidly recognise clinically and adequately respond to new public health threats, like attacks with biological, chemical and radiological agents.

The content of the educational package and the methodology of the training course were developed in co-operation with major educational institutions and emphasis was placed on strategies for the diffusion of the relevant knowledge at the local and regional level and the training of front line healthcare providers so that timely detection and response to public health threats will be better achieved at all levels.

In more detail we set up a list of the educational objectives for front line health professionals, an inventory of all existing courses and training material relevant for the training thematic addressed to health professionals and developed a common European educational package and algorithm to enhance the understanding and response of health professionals to new health threats. The educational package was applied through a pilot course to a selected group of European health professionals on a pilot base and was widely disseminated.

Contributions to the development of this material were made by:
Agoritsa BAKA MD, Eirini ANDRIOPOULOU MSc, Ioannis GALATAS MD, Evangelia TAVOULARI MD, Evangelos ALEXOPOULOS MD, Elena RIZA MPH, PhD, Athena LINOS, MD, MPH, PhD (ETHREAT project leader).


Project Coordinator

Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Athens Medical School, National and Kapodistrian Univercity of Athens, Greece


Project Partners:

Institute of Preventive Medicine, Environmental and Occupational Health (Prolepsis) Country: Greece 
Dresden University of Technology Country: Germany 
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Country: UK 
Nofer Institute of Occupational Health Country: Poland 
National Institute of Public Health Country: Czech Republic 
Medical University of Sofia Counrty: Bulgaria


Links to the educational material produced in the framework of the ETHREAT project, funded by the Public Health Programme 2004, with Professor Athena Linos as Scientific Coordinator – Leader:

1. ETHREAT Handbook

2. ETHREAT Leaflet

3. ETHREAT Educational Cards

4. ETHREAT Algorithm for Greece