Developing a Rural Health Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)
Our rural health massive online course (MOOC) was conceived and launched at the University of New Mexico (UNM) College of Nursing (CoN) in 2014. The purpose was to provide an in-depth course to nurses on rurality, rural health disparities, exploring rural culture and language, strategies for resource assessment and utilization, healthcare policy, effective practice and research strategy development, encouraging innovative healthcare delivery strategies and offering an opportunity for inter-regional global exchange of rural health issues and ideas. The course was developed as one of five courses as a pilot for UNM’s involvement in MOOCs offering knowledge exchange with the global community.
Rationale/Background:
Half the world’s population lives in rural and remote areas. A common imbalance in most countries is that most health care workers live in urban areas. This poses a significant challenge to almost all countries to provide rural and remote healthcare services. Rural regions on a global level tend to be poorer as well. Despite government policies and regulations attempting to influence these imbalances, free markets tend to have healthcare providers drawn to urban centers. The purpose of this course is to open communication between nurses on a global level to exchange ideas and learn from each other how different parts of the world address rural health issues.
Brief description:
This is a MOOC presented to the global community of nurses to discuss and educate on rural health issues. The course ran over an eight week period of time. Guests from various disciplines at UNM and beyond were engaged in teaching modules. Each module had a visual aid of approximately 15 minutes. Didactic included reading assignments and video clips along with monitored discussion boards and 4 peer-graded tests. A pre- and post- participation survey was administered. Continuing education units were offered in exchange for a certificate of completion at the conclusion of the course.
Conclusions:
Global interaction is a valuable component of learning and sharing of ideas. The de-monopolization of knowledge and force multiplication of information through peer exchange allows for a greater understanding of the challenges and solutions to increasing healthcare in rural communities. The exchange of ideas is vital to continued growth and efficiency in this healthcare sector. This is an example of excellence in online communication and education.