Implementation of Health Risk Management in Higher Educational Institutions of India: an ISO 45001 and Qualitative Approach

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to understand the role of ISO 45001 in implementation of health risk management in higher educational institutions of India. The respondents for the study were heads of higher educational institutions, academic staff, students, ISO 45001 certified internal and external auditors as well as doctors. The data was collected through theoretical sampling method and continued till a point of theoretical saturation was reached.  The received responses were subjected to thematic analysis from which health risk management concepts related to implementation of ISO 45001 in higher educational institutions emerged. The different elements of ISO 45001 are leadership, planning, support and operations, performance evaluation and continual improvement. Leadership relates to designing the safety policy and ensuring commitment to implement the process across educational institutions. Planning involves designing objectives, forming task force for implementation, identifying health risks and risk mitigation and designing standard operating procedures for institutional departments. Support and operations represent implementation of safety guidelines across various departments. Performance evaluation relates to monitoring of health and well-being through internal and external audits while continual improvement relates to periodic improvement of healthcare system.

Keywords- safety, quality, higher education, health, qualitative