Free Online Course: Public Health Principles in Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response

Introduction:

As part of the knowledge transfer endeavour of the Collaborating Centre for Oxford University and CUHK for Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response (CCOUC), the 4th cohort of a free online course entitled “Public Health Principles in Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response” supported by CUHK and University of Oxford is now open for registration and study until 16 May 2016 on a first-come-first-served basis. A certificate of completion will be issued for participants who have successfully completed the course.

Close to 3,000 students from six continents have enrolled in the first three cohorts offered in June and November 2014 and May 2015, respectively.

The 7-lesson course will cover basic concepts of disasters, the global trends and impact of disaster, essential concepts of public health relevant to disaster risk reduction and resilience-building, the international coordination of disaster response, as well as conceptualization of public health emergency preparedness in the context of the human security approach to development.

Course overview:

The "Public Health Principles in Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response" online course was developed by CCOUC in an attempt to make lessons learnt from previous disasters available and comprehensible to key stakeholders in disaster risk mitigation and the civil society. Students enrolled in the course will gain insight and theoretical understanding of the public health issues related to disaster and be empowered personally and professionally to take necessary actions in the individual, community, and national levels to reduce the health risk posed by the increasing frequency and intensity of disaster.

Course features:

The course teaching assistant may assist students in solving any challenges regarding the course content and answer any questions in the process; The course is supported by a mobile application available for download here; The course enrich students' learning with the use of real disaster case studies, online tools and relevant international publications; The course offers exceptional flexibility for participants to manage their study schedule with course material accessible online anytime, anywhere!

Target audience:

The target audience for this course is individuals studying and working in health, policy, education and humanitarian sectors. Students may be civil servants, healthcare personnel, frontline disaster relief practitioners, and postgraduate students of closely-related disciplines.

Tuition:

As part of CCOUC’s knowledge transfer endeavour, this course is offered free of charge.

Course completion and certification:

Students who obtain 60% or above in the final assessment will be issued a printable certificate in recognition of completing the course.

Access to the course:

Cohort 3 of the course is available to registered students only until 15 December 2015. Cohort 4 is now available and will be open for new registrations until 16 May 2016. To access Cohort 4 of the course, you will first need to register and create an account. Once you have registered, you will be able to access the course from this page by clicking on the Cohort 4 course title below and logging in using the account details you created. The first time you access the course you may be asked to click a button to enrol yourself.