Peoples-uni

People's Open Access Educational Initiative
TypePrivate non-profit
Established2007 (2007)
Location
Manchester
,
U.K.
CampusVirtual
Websitehttp://www.peoples-uni.org/

The People's Open Access Education Initiative, abbreviated as Peoples-uni, is a non-profit organisation established in 2007[1] to help build public health capacity in developing countries through low cost online education for health professionals.

History

Peoples-uni was registered as a charity by the UK Charity Commission[2] in 2007, and the first students were admitted in 2008. Since then, over one thousand students from more than 40 countries have enrolled. Manchester Metropolitan University validated the courses so that students could gain the Master of Public Health (MPH) award there.

Organization and administration

Modules come in two groups: Foundation Sciences of Public Health, and Public Health problems facing the developing world. Each module has a similar structure, and is populated by Open Educational Resources. Discussion forums are facilitated by expert volunteer tutors, who also mark assignments. A dissertation is required for the award of the MPH. The use of volunteer tutors allows costs to be kept low for students from developing countries.

In order to make sure that costs are low enough to be afforded by the target audience in developing countries, Peoples-uni has adopted a social enterprise model where volunteers underpin the educational programme and low fees are charged to cover modest infrastructure costs.[3] Fees are $50 per module, or £1500 for the validated MPH course. Trustees oversee the organisation and an academic leadership group oversees academic aspects.

Partnerships

Educational Quality Assurance is provided internally and through partnerships. The Master of Public Health programme is currently validated by Manchester Metropolitan University, and the UK Royal Society for Public Health is a strategic partner.[4][5] Partnerships with other universities and organisations are being developed.[6]

Citations by independent sources

The educational innovation provided by the Peoples-uni has been recognised as having potential to help correct the unequal distribution of the global health workforce.[7] The course team was awarded an online volunteering award in 2013.[8] Reference has been made to Peoples-uni or its publications in peer reviewed publications including Health Education,[9] PLoS ONE,[10] International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management,[11] Human Resources for Health,[12] and Australia and New Zealand Health Policy.[13]

References

  1. ^ Heller, RF; Chongsuvivatwong V; Hailegeorgios S; Dada J; Torun P; Madhok R; Sandars J (2007). "Capacity-building for public health" (PDF). Bull World Health Organ. 85 (12): 930–934. doi:10.2471/blt.07.044388 (inactive December 5, 2024). PMC 2636296. PMID 18278252. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 11, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2019.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of December 2024 (link)
  2. ^ Charity Commission. "1126265 People's Open Access Education Initiative". Archived from the original on April 21, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  3. ^ Heller, RF (2009). "Experience with a "social model" of capacity building: the Peoples-uni". Human Resources for Health. 7: 43. doi:10.1186/1478-4491-7-43. PMC 2692980. PMID 19476652.
  4. ^ Royal Society for Public Health. "Strategic Partnerships". Archived from the original on March 31, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  5. ^ Royal Society for Public Health. "People's Open Access Education Initiative". Archived from the original on June 3, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  6. ^ Pakistan Institute of Public Health Research. "PIPHR signed an MOU with Peoples-Uni". Archived from the original on April 20, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  7. ^ Crisp, N; Chen, L (2014). "Global supply of health professionals". New England Journal of Medicine. 370 (10): 950–957. doi:10.1056/nejmra1111610. PMID 24597868.
  8. ^ Volunteers, UN. "Online Volunteering Award 2013". Archived from the original on April 20, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
  9. ^ Angell, C; Hartwell H; Hemingway A (2011). "The emergence of public health open educational resources". Health Education. 111 (4): 256–265. doi:10.1108/09654281111144238.
  10. ^ Chung, MH; Severynen AO; Hals MP; et al. (2012). "Offering an American Graduate Medical HIV Course to Health Care Workers in Resource-Limited Settings via the Internet". PLOS ONE. 7 (12): e52663. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...752663C. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0052663. PMC 3527561. PMID 23285139.
  11. ^ Kumar, S; Niedan-Olsen K; Peterson L (2009). "Educating the supply chain logistics for humanitarian efforts in Africa: a case study". International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management. 58 (5): 480–500. doi:10.1108/17410400910965733.
  12. ^ Alexander, L; Igumbor EH; Sanders D (2009). "Building capacity without disrupting health services: public health education for Africa through distance learning". Human Resources for Health. 7: 28. doi:10.1186/1478-4491-7-28. PMC 2678972. PMID 19338669.
  13. ^ Patel, M; Phillips CB (2009). "Strengthening field-based training in low and middle-income countries to build public health capacity: Lessons from Australia's Master of Applied Epidemiology program". Australia and New Zealand Health Policy. 6: 5. doi:10.1186/1743-8462-6-5. PMC 2672090. PMID 19358710.