Abstract
People’s Open Access Education Initiative (Peoples-uni, http://peoples-uni.org) aims to contribute to improvements in the health of populations in low- to middle-income countries by building public health capacity via e-learning at affordable cost. We describe experience over nine years of the initiative, including the development and delivery of a Master of Public Health (MPH) programme in public health and collaboration with a UK University. Courses rely on Open Educational Resources and volunteer tutors from over 50 countries to date. During 18 semesters since 2008, 1619 students from 92 countries (71% from Africa) enrolled. Of 128 students accepted on an MPH programme accredited by a UK University, 94 earned an MPH (73%) and a further 18 (14%) achieved a postgraduate diploma or certificate. Other developments include continuing involvement with Alumni, and a sister site for Open Online Courses to include topics not often found in MPH courses. We offer insights for further development of this and similar online capacity building programmes within low-resource environments. Our experience shows the feasibility of affordable, high quality online education and that there is scope for accelerating capacity building programmes through partnerships with higher education institutions and health(care) organisations.
Highlights
The People’s Open Access Education Initiative, known as Peoples-uni, aims to contribute to improvements in the health of populations in low- to middle-income countries (LMICs) by building public health capacity via e-learning at affordable cost
We have described the creation of a model for supporting public health capacity using developments in Open Educational Resources (OER) and open access IT, and by leveraging the tremendous goodwill that exists amongst people who are prepared to volunteer their expertise and time
We have developed the concept of online global learning as “innovative, integrated, global opportunities for capacity building through online learning and shared experiences between and within Low- to Middle-Income Countries and High-Income Countries, in a continuous process that helps health care workers learn as they progress through their careers” (Madhok et al, 2018, p. 91)
Summary
The People’s Open Access Education Initiative, known as Peoples-uni (http://peoples-uni.org), aims to contribute to improvements in the health of populations in low- to middle-income countries (LMICs) by building public health capacity via e-learning at affordable cost. We have previously described the development of the concept and the situation analyses that led us to setting up Peoples-uni (Heller et al, 2007; Heller, 2009). In essence we developed a programme that could be delivered entirely online to health professionals working in LMICs. By focusing on competence-based educational outcomes through a social model including the use of volunteer tutors and support staff, and use of Open Educational Resources (OER), we are able to offer high quality education at very affordable cost. Small team of colleagues in Manchester, Builds on opportunities presented by the UK explores idea for low cost public health advent of OER and availability of an open capacity building in LMICs. Situation analysis performed in six developing countries
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