PHA-Exchange> A Pilot E-Learning course on Strengthening the Essential Public Health Functions

Tue Aug 9 17:57:43 PDT 2005

From: Ruggiero, Mrs. Ana Lucia (WDC) 

Strengthening the Essential Public Health Functions 

Course Code: HNP382-37-337

 A PILOT E-LEARNING COURSE

APPLICATION DEADLINE: 15 September 2005

ORGANIZERS: The World Bank Institute and the Pan American Health Organization

Website: http://wbln0018.worldbank.org/wbi/wbicatalogue.nsf/vewExternalEvents/E1FDB31A5C65E9EE85257054004E3109?OpenDocument 

Dates: From October 05, 2005 to February, 01, 2006 

Cost: No Fees. 

Delivery Mode: Fully Web-based/Fully Online-asynchronous (EL)  Language: English  

Hmmm!

Claudio

BACKGROUND OF THE COURSE:

At the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000, the 189 states of the United Nations reaffirmed their commitment to work towards a world in which elimination

of poverty and sustainable development would have the highest priority. The World Bank and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) along with numerous

organizations, are committed to an unprecedented global effort to work towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as part of their corporate mandates.

Since the Summit, it has become apparent that the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is at risk in many parts of the world. Nearly over a

half of the targets and the MDGs directly or indirectly concern health and at present there are several alarming trends in health indicators that need to be addressed in order to achieve the MDGs. Moreover, poor health contributes to declines in per capita income and productivity, ultimately undermining these countries? efforts to reduce poverty.

As the World Bank analysis of MDGs shows in the Health, Nutrition and Population Millennium Development Goals,?Rising to the Challenges?, effective interventions exist, the challenge is to strengthen the health sector through: stronger policies and institutions; improved household practices; improved service delivery; tackling of human resources and pharmaceutical market  constraints; sustainable financing and the strengthening of core public health functions.

With regard to the latter, there is a growing consensus on the need to strengthen the public health capacity of national health systems as an indispensable condition to attain, and more importantly, to sustain the health MDGs. However, the consensus is broader in scope, as all nations, rich and poor, have to address health challenges linked to their socio-epidemiologic and demographic profiles and trends, in a context of globalization.

PAHO, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Latin American Center for Health Systems Research (CLAISS), developed  a set of 11 Essential Public Health Functions that captures the role of national health authorities in public health. An instrument was prepared to assess the performance of these functions and further applied in 42 countries and territories in the Region of the Americas, providing a rich experience and strong empirical basis for the development of specific plans of action.

Similarly, the World Bank recognized  the importance of embracing the principles and practices of public health through a public health note and the adoption of a Poverty Reduction Strategy framework.

To ensure the relevance and quality of its content and delivery, the e-learning course has been designed and organized by leading experts in the fields of

public health and distance learning. Along with these technical content experts, the course designers have ensured that the course blends technical knowledge and policy relevance with the right mix of interactivity and practical examples to stimulate the learner.

OBJECTIVES

The overall objective of the course is to develop leadership and competencies in the performance and assessment of the Essential Public Health Functions

(EPHF), as a critical component in strengthening national capacity in public health.

At the end of the course participants will be able to:

·         apply the conceptual framework that supports the Essential Public Health Functions (EPHF)

·         describe and analyze each of the EPHF in detail; 

·         apply the methodology and diagnostic tools to assess and monitor the performance of the EPHF at the national and sub-national levels; 

·         design plans of action and strategies to strengthen public health functions and capacities within a specific country context; 

·         analyze the contribution of health systems and EPHF to achieve the MDG making use of the provided framework; 

·         employ strategies for encouraging participation of key stakeholders in achieving public health objectives and reorienting health care services; and 

·         identify health problems that require cross-sectoral strategies to address them.

COURSE STRUCTURE

The course is structured around the 11 Essential Public Health Functions as identified by PAHO and will be clustered in an introductory module and 3 tracks.

Participants will be required to take the introductory module and the first track (basics and organization) and then to choose one from the other two tracks (the strategy and policy track or the access and quality track). Participants can also take all three tracks if they have the interest and availability to do so.

Required:

Introductory Module

Track 1: Basis and Organization

1. Health Situation Monitoring

2. Surveillance and Risk Control

3. Human Resource Development

4. Emergencies and Disasters

Choose either track 2 or track 3:

Track 2: Strategy and Policy

5. Policy Development

6. Regulation

7. Health Promotion

8. Research

Track 3: Access and Quality

9. Quality of Services

10 Equitable Access

11. Social Participation

12. Inter-sectoral Action for Health

COURSE FORMAT

You will take the pilot course entirely through the internet (World Wide Web). Upon acceptance as participant you will be given a course ID and password, with which you will be able to access the course site. The format of the course relies heavily on 'action learning' which means that you will be required to actively participate in all online activities, which will mainly consist of reading the course content and posting assignments and reacting to other participants' postings.  As most of the weeks' assignments are based on team work and joint products, it is imperative that you are able to log in and work on the course regularly so that your team can effectively produce the team products, and that you can adhere to deadlines. Active participation is required to qualify for receiving a completion certificate.

Technical Requirements: Participation in the course requires an internet connection, the Internet Explorer browser and the Acrobat Reader and Flash

Player (vs 6 or higher). More detailed technical requirements will be sent upon confirmation of participation.

The working language of the course will be English.  Because of the nature of internet based learning, you will have to have good to excellent English writing skills, since all the communication within the course will be in written format.

Since this is an e-learning course there will be no travel involved.  We require that you be able to set aside 8 to 10 hours per week to devote to the training. It is important that you get your manager's approval for this time commitment prior to applying to this course.  We advise spreading the workload out over the week, working everyday on it for an hour or two, rather than doing it all in one day.  This will enable you to actively participate in all discussions and respond to your fellow participants' postings in a timely manner and thus satisfying the completion requirements for this course.

Given that the course is a first offering (a pilot), your feedback on the course will be used for future improvement of the course.

DURATION AND COURSE LOAD:  Three tracks of  5, 4 and 4 weeks respectively - 8 to 10 hours per week. 

Participants are required to do the introductory module and Track 1 and either Track 2 OR Track 3.  

See below for more information about the tracks.

DATES: TRACK 1:October 5 - November 9 2005, 
TRACK 2: November 23 - December 21 2005 and 
TRACK 3: January 4 - February 1 2006.

PARTICIPANTS: Technical cadres of Ministries of Health, mid-level policy makers, World Bank staff, PAHO and WHO staff, other development agency and donor agency staff and other agents of change.

REGIONS TARGETED: There will be 25 slots for participants from the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) region, the remainder of the 25 slots are open for participants from any region of the world.

APPLICATIONS

On behalf of the course organizers, we take great pleasure in inviting you, or a member of your staff, to participate in this event. Please feel free to forward

this announcement to anyone you think might be interested to participate or nominate a participant.

We would also like to invite you to nominate participants from countries you work with.  We are particularly interested in receiving nominations from Ministries of Health, Finance/Planning, Parliament, etc, as well as NGOs, private sector organizations, the donor community and others working in this field.  We encourage teams from each country to participate and collaborate in this course.

Please apply online for this offering at:

http://wbln0018.worldbank.org/wbi/wbicatalogue.nsf/ExtApp?OpenForm&code=HNP382-37-337&trail=ByDate 

(Make sure you copy the entire URL in your browser, starting from "http" to "ByDate")

If you have problems locating the electronic application form, please send an email to jhindriks at worldbank.org. Upon acceptance you will receive information

how to log on to the course.

FEES

For this pilot only there will be no fees.

For any other information contact Jo Hindriks at jhindriks at worldbank.org

LANGUAGE: English only

GENERAL COURSE CONTACT: Jo Hindriks at jhindriks at worldbank.org

APPLY: Please go to the online application form at:

*      *      *     *  

This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate 
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic 
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics; 
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ IKM Area]  

"Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is".Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings 
and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American 
Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members". 
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