Welcome to this module, which is available to all who log on to the People's Open Access Education Initiative (Peoples-uni http://peoples-uni.org). It is a demonstration module, not for credit, and aims to:

1. Provide an overview of what is Public Health and some of its main components - for all who may be interested, as well as for those taking courses though the Peoples-uni

2. Show prospective students how the Peoples-uni course modules are structured, so you will know what to expect when you enrol in a course module.

The challenges for Public Health are eloquently described in 'Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries': "Between 1950 and 1990, life expectancy in developing countries increased from forty to sixty-three years with a concomitant rise in the incidence of the non-communicable diseases of adults and the elderly. Yet there remains a huge unfinished agenda for dealing with under-nutrition and the communicable childhood diseases. Four critical challenges face developing countries today: high levels and rapid growth of non-communicable diseases; the unchecked HIV/AIDS pandemic; the possibility of a successor to the influenza pandemic of 1918; and the persistence of high but preventable levels of diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, diarrhoea, and pneumonia for which malnutrition is a critical risk factor."

Meeting these challenges to the health of the population is the task of Public Health, and helping to develop capacity in Public Health is the key goal of the Peoples-uni. This module, Foundations of Public Health is designed to set the scene for those who want to learn more about how to improve the health of their populations.

Navigating the course module.
You will see 5 Topics (which we think cover at least some of the foundations of Public Health). In other modules which are offered for credit, each Topic is run over a two week period, and the student examines the resources and joins the discussion which is led by a facilitator (one of the more than 50 tutors from 12 countries who have volunteered to help in this way). In this module, because it is not run over a particular time period to a timetable, we are not able to offer tutor support to the discussion forums, nor will be be marking the assignments - they are provided as examples of the kind of assignment you might expect in a module offered for credit.
In each of the 5 Topics, you will find the title of the Topic and the headline competence which the Topic is trying to produce in the learner, as well as the learning objectives (these are also called assessment criteria, as it is on these criteria that the assessment for academic credit is made through an assignment). Then there is a set of resources - this is in the form of a web page to which you link, and in that page are a number of resources that relate to the competence and learning objectives - you get to these by clicking on the link. All links are in blue - in the form of a hyperlink eg Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries. Then comes a discussion forum, designed to explore the resources in detail and share experiences with other students and an expert tutor facilitator, and in some of the Topics a progress or final assignment. There may also be a quiz for you to assess your own progress.
For copyright issues, we are also not able to offer copies of the resources, they are provided as links to the online resources - in the modules offered for credit, we are able to provide most of the resources as pdf files for you to download and read at leisure.
We hope you enjoy the module - please send us any feedback through http://www.peoples-uni.org/contact - if you would like access to contribute to the discussions or to take the quizzes, or to offer some relevant resources which we can add to later versions, we would love to hear from you. If you are stimulated to enrol in other course modules, please go to http://peoples-uni.org where you can see more details and can send an application or expression of interest.

Title: How the Peoples-uni courses contribute to developing workforce capacity in Public Health

Headline Competence: Show how the knowledge and skills to be obtained through module offered through the Peoples-uni can contribute to your own career development and improving the health of the population

Assessment criteria (also called learning objectives)
5a. Identify 8 course modules offered by the Peoples-uni which can provide you with useful knowledge and skills
5b. Discuss the need for human resource development in health in your setting, and how Peoples-uni modules could contribute to this

The overall objectives of learning through the Peoples-uni are as follows:
1.Provide capacity building in Public Health through Internet based e-learning for those working in low- to middle-income countries who would otherwise not be able to access such education, using a 'social model' based on volunteers and open educational resources to keep costs low
2.Offer education at the 'train the trainers' level, equivalent to that of a Masters level, for those with prior educational and occupational experience
3.The education will meet identified competences which help with the practice of Public Health and be action oriented, reflecting a critical understanding of the evidence base, to assist in tackling major health problems facing the populations in which the students work
4.Create an educational portfolio leading to a Certificate and Diploma in Public Health based on being shown to have met the competences identified in 4 or 8 of the course modules respectively (and later to a Masters)
5.Develop collaborative partnerships for this work with higher education institutions and other organisations globally