The role of open and distance learning in health education is clearly of critical importance but more could be done if those responsible for training medics, paramedics and nurses worked more closely with open and distance learning specialists.
We are particularly interested in specific initiatives in HIV/Aids awareness and training strategies related to the school curriculum. What kinds of materials have been produced and how effective have they been in delivery given the difficulties of access in many countries?
How can open and distance learning be used to help solve the problem of preventative health care through education for the public as well as for specialist health care workers?
How can open and distance learning help to solve the problem of migration of health care workers? Western countries, with ageing populations, have an almost insatiable demand for trained healthcare professionals to meet their own growing demands (for example, the UK takes many trained professionals from Africa and Asia). How can open and distance learning contribute to filling the gap? In the Solomon Islands, for example, the ratio of doctors to patients is 1:10,000. Alternative methods of reaching people with health care prevention must be adopted.
What training strategies have been used to train health care workers on a large scale?
Diet is a major issue; bottled water is becoming more expensive than Coke. Diabetes is becoming one of the fastest killers in the Pacific and Asia and an established health care problem in the ‘developed' world.
With the focus on HIV/Aids and to a lesser extent malaria, how can we ensure, through open and distance learning, that the broader picture of health care needs is not overlooked?
We look forward to papers and other contributions which describe specific case studies that demonstrate successful outreach in training those who address health concerns where facilities are limited or priority is low.
To read about the latest news for contributors to this theme, including guidance for papers, go to the news page. Link to proposals.
Professor Sharon Huttly, Professor of Postgraduate Education in International Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. External link to profile of Sharon Huttly.
Mr Ian Pringle, Education Specialist, Media, Commonwealth of Learning. External link to profile of Ian Pringle.