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About This Course:

Do you want to learn how to design? Using the Delft Design Approach, you will learn how to use a number of key design methods to create meaningful products and services.

This course is an introduction to the Delft Design Approach offering a model and a set of signature methods from Delft to teach you how to get from understanding the user in context to defining a meaningful design challenge and – in the end – deliver a great design! The course challenges you to experience the design process yourself and reflect on your work with the help of students and excellent teaching staff from Delft, and industrial experts.

No previous knowledge of design methods is required, yet some experience with designing (something) is helpful.

This course has been awarded with the 2015 Open Education Award for Excellence in the category ‘Open MOOC’ by the Open Education Consortium.

 

What You’ll Learn:

  • How to study users in their own environment;
  • How to translate user insights into a design challenge that will spark creativity;
  • How to create a meaningful design to meet your challenge;
  • How to design and to structure your projects with the support of design thinking, a model and several methods;
  • How to evaluate and present your design.
 

Syllabus:

This course is self-paced and structured along 6 steps. Most steps can be done in about a week, except for step 5 which might take two weeks). The course is then structured as follows:

Step 1: Understanding meaning in design
​•How do the things around us attain their meaning?
​•How and why do we design meaningful things?

Step 2: Understanding the context of use
• How and why do we gain empathic understanding of the users we design for?
• How do we derive insights to inspire the design process?

Step 3: Defining a design challenge
• How do we identify the key design problem when we look at the user’s current situation?
• How do we define a meaningful design challenge that will drive the creative phases of design?

Step 4: Generating ideas
• How do we generate ideas?
• How do we filter promising ideas?

Step 5: Developing concepts (Optional EXTRA: Prototyping Concept)
• What is a design concept and how do we develop a concept?
• What role does sketching have in developing concepts?
• How do we evaluate concepts and decide between them?

Step 6: Testing with user & final presentation (Optional EXTRA: Testing Prototype of Concept)
• How do we test key qualities of a concept?
• How do we present a concept?

Meet Your Instructors:

Annemiek van Boeijen

Annemiek is assistant professor in industrial design and design aesthetics at the Delft University of Technology. She conducts research on the role of culture in design processes. She is co-editor of the Delft Design Guide. She received her MSc. and PhD from Delft University of Technology.
Jaap J.J. Daalhuizen

Jaap J.J. Daalhuizen

Jaap was assistant professor at the Delft University of Technology. He now works at the Technical University of Denmark. He conducts research in design methodology and design thinking. He is co-editor of the Delft Design Guide. He received his MSc. and PhD from Delft University of Technology.

Learner testimonials

” The Delft Design course taught me how to fully understand the end-users and their needs and how to meet them through product development.”

Joseph,the Philippines

” The Delft Design course taught me how to fully understand the end-users and their needs and how to meet them through product development.”

Joseph,the Philippines

About This Course:

This health course will focus on the mental health issues of people with intellectual disability.

You will learn about the complexities of diagnosing mental health issues in people with intellectual disabilities and the types of disorders, assessments, screenings, and treatments used. There will also be a special focus on the legal and ethical complexities in health practice with patients who often require substituted consent.

This course is open to anyone, but will be of particular relevance to those in the field of advanced medical, allied health, and disability. It can also be used as workforce education for professionals who are interested in mental health.

What You’ll Learn:

  • mental health issues and disorders
  • mental health assessments and screenings
  • challenging behaviors
  • treatments
  • legal and ethical issues

XSeries Program in Intellectual Disability Healthcare

Understand the barriers and enablers

Through My Eyes - Intellectual Disability Healthcare around the World
Well and Able - Improving the Physical Health of People with Intellectual Disability
Able-Minded - Mental Health and People with Intellectual Disability
3 Courses 4 Months 1 - 2 Hours per week
Complete Program $159.30
Program Details

Meet Your Instructors:

Nicholas Lennox

Nick is the former Director of the Queensland Centre for Intellectual and Developmental Disability at the University of Queensland. He is a researcher, educator, advocate and clinician and has specialised in the health of adults with intellectual disability since 1992. He is trained in general practice, and has developed interventions to improve the health of people with intellectual disability.

Miriam Taylor

Miriam is the former Education Coordinator at the Queensland Centre for Intellectual and Developmental Disability in the School of Medicine at the University of Queensland. She has a wealth of educational design experience for multi-users including people with intellectual disability, their families, disability organisations and health practitioners. Miriam has established an ongoing international collaboration with and is an invited contributor to the first World Disability Report for the World Health Organisation.

About This Course:

This health course will examine the specific physical health issues that affect people with an intellectual disability including, oral health, syndrome specific health issues, health communication, especially for non-verbal patients, sexual health, and interactions between tertiary and primary healthcare systems. There is a special section on complex care including issues associated with aging and spasticity, and the health impacts of epilepsy.

This course is open to anyone, but will be of particular relevance to those in the field of medical, allied health, and disability. It can also be used as workforce education for medical professionals in this field.

What You’ll Learn:

  • common health conditions
  • health assessments and health promotion
  • oral health
  • syndrome specific health issues
  • complex care associated with aging, epilepsy and spasticity

XSeries Program in Intellectual Disability Healthcare

Understand the barriers and enablers

Through My Eyes - Intellectual Disability Healthcare around the World
Well and Able - Improving the Physical Health of People with Intellectual Disability
Able-Minded - Mental Health and People with Intellectual Disability
3 Courses 4 Months 1 - 2 Hours per week
Complete Program $159.30
Program Details

Meet Your Instructors:

Nicholas Lennox

Nick is the former Director of the Queensland Centre for Intellectual and Developmental Disability at the University of Queensland. He is a researcher, educator, advocate and clinician and has specialised in the health of adults with intellectual disability since 1992. He is trained in general practice, and has developed interventions to improve the health of people with intellectual disability.

Miriam Taylor

Miriam is the former Education Coordinator at the Queensland Centre for Intellectual and Developmental Disability in the School of Medicine at the University of Queensland. She has a wealth of educational design experience for multi-users including people with intellectual disability, their families, disability organisations and health practitioners. Miriam has established an ongoing international collaboration with and is an invited contributor to the first World Disability Report for the World Health Organisation.

About This Course:

This health course focuses on the stories of people with intellectual disabilities around the world, as well as their families and supporters.

You will learn about the challenges and aid received in healthcare for people with intellectual disabilities, including their experience of specific syndromes and communication difficulties, and how they stay healthy.

Learners will also hear from family members as they discuss complex care, rare syndromes, early death, and planning for independence. The end of the course will focus on the history of treatment, the impact of rights’ movements on healthcare delivery, common health conditions, and health promotion.

This course is open to anyone, but will be of particular relevance to those in the field of advanced medical, allied health, and disability. This course can also be used as workforce education for medical professionals in this field.

What You’ll Learn:

  • Insights into the daily life of those with intellectual disabilities and their families
  • Challenges and obstacles experienced and how these are overcome
  • Specific healthcare needs and how to promote good health for people with an intellectual disability

XSeries Program in Intellectual Disability Healthcare

Understand the barriers and enablers

Through My Eyes - Intellectual Disability Healthcare around the World
Well and Able - Improving the Physical Health of People with Intellectual Disability
Able-Minded - Mental Health and People with Intellectual Disability
3 Courses 4 Months 1 - 2 Hours per week
Complete Program $159.30
Program Details

Meet Your Instructors:

Nicholas Lennox

Nick is the former Director of the Queensland Centre for Intellectual and Developmental Disability at the University of Queensland. He is a researcher, educator, advocate and clinician and has specialised in the health of adults with intellectual disability since 1992. He is trained in general practice, and has developed interventions to improve the health of people with intellectual disability.

Miriam Taylor

Miriam is the former Education Coordinator at the Queensland Centre for Intellectual and Developmental Disability in the School of Medicine at the University of Queensland. She has a wealth of educational design experience for multi-users including people with intellectual disability, their families, disability organisations and health practitioners. Miriam has established an ongoing international collaboration with and is an invited contributor to the first World Disability Report for the World Health Organisation.

Course Overview:

All of us carry explicit or implicit theories of learning. They manifest themselves in the ways we learn, the ways we teach, and the ways we think about leadership and learning.

In Leaders of Learning, you will identify and develop your personal theory of learning, and explore how it fits into the shifting landscape of learning. This isn’t just about schools, it’s about the broader and bigger world of learning.

The education sector is undergoing great transformation, and in the coming decades will continue to change. How we learn, what we learn, where we learn, and why we learn; all these questions will be reexamined. In Leaders of Learning we will explore learning, leadership, organizational structure, and physical design.

What You’ll Learn:

  • How to define your personal theory of learning
  • What leadership looks like in different learning environments
  • How an organization’s structure reflects its theories of learning
  • How physical and digital design shape learning
  • How neuroscience will affect the future of learning

Meet Your Instructor:

Richard Elmore - Pearson Advance

Richard Elmore

The Gregory R. Anrig Research Professor of Educational Leadership at Harvard University Richard Elmore is the The Gregory R. Anrig Research Professor of Educational Leadership at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. For the past fifteen years his research and clinical practice has concentrated on the improvement of instructional practice in schools and classrooms, and the development of organizational systems to support those improvements. His current work focuses on the fundamental re-design of learning environments, and the development of leaders and entrepreneurs to create and sustain those environments, all in light of dramatic changes in our understanding of the neuroscience of learning and the exponential growth of digital culture. He was founding faculty director of the Doctor of Educational Leadership (EdLD) program at Harvard.

Course Overview

Addiction is such a common problem today that people experiencing alcohol, nicotine or other drug problems present in many different healthcare settings. The challenge of linking people experiencing addiction to the right response is a serious one, and much depends on understanding addiction and recognising the role that we all play in the pathway to recovery.

This course is intended to help you meet this challenge by increasing your understanding of the biology of addiction and the available treatment options in the different stages of the recovery journey.

Key questions we will look at in this course include:

  • When do we call “excessive use” addiction?
  • Why is it so difficult to change addictive behaviour?
  • Who can play a role to get people on the track to recovery?
  • How do you respond to people with mild to moderate problems?
  • How can you assess and increase motivation to change?
  • What sort of interventions can support a person experiencing severe addiction?
  • What is my role as a professional, either within or outside of addiction care?
  • How can I identify the best of the many options available?
  • What are hurdles to get the right support to manage addiction around the world?

 

What You’ll Learn

  • Framework for pathways to recovery
  • How to identify people at risk of addiction
  • Applied understanding of intervention and treatment options

Prerequisites

A background in healthcare may be helpful prior to taking this course, but there are no formal prerequisites.

Meet Your Instructors

​Femke Buisman-Pijlman

Senior Lecturer Addiction Studies at University of Adelaide Dr Femke Buisman-Pijlman is a leader in Addiction Studies and online education. She is an award-winning teacher and researcher in the Discipline of Pharmacology at the University of Adelaide, where she is a Senior Lecturer Addiction Studies and head of the Behavioural Neuroscience lab. As program leader of the International Programme in Addiction Studies, and other postgraduate degrees in Alcohol and Drug Studies, she has taught the biology of addiction and treatment options to a wide range of students. Femke is also the convenor of the major in Addiction and Mental Health which has recently been introduced to the Bachelor of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Adelaide. Femke has extensive experience teaching fully online programs to professionals in the field from all around the world. She has extensive experience working in the interdisciplinary field of addiction. Currently, Femke’s research is demonstrating how early life experiences affect behaviour and susceptibility to addiction. Since 2008, Femke has been Graduate Affiliate Faculty at Virginia Commonwealth University. Femke is postgraduate coordinator for Pharmacology and passionate about engaging kids in neuroscience.

Linda Gowing

Associate Professor in the Discipline of Pharmacology at University of Adelaide Associate Professor Linda Gowing is an expert in best practice in the treatment of drug and alcohol problems. She is a Principal Research Officer at Drug and Alcohol Services South Australia (DASSA), and an Associate Professor in the Discipline of Pharmacology at the University of Adelaide. DASSA is the government provider of specialist treatment services for people with drug and alcohol problems in South Australia. Her work at DASSA enables Linda to bring to the course an awareness of the practicalities of providing treatment to people with alcohol and other drug problems, as well as the more academic knowledge of research evidence. Linda also has experience in health care policy having worked for the Australian Commonwealth Department of Health, including two years in charge of the section on illicit drug policy. Linda’s research interests relate to critical appraisal of research evidence on the treatment of addiction and translation of evidence into practice. She is affiliated with the Cochrane Collaboration, which produces The Cochrane Library, a collection of up-to-date systematic reviews on healthcare. Linda is a member of the editorial board for the Cochrane Drugs and Alcohol Group, an author of multiple Cochrane reviews on different aspects of addiction treatment, and has been a mentor for researchers in Thailand, China, USA and Australia, undertaking systematic reviews. Linda also has experience in the preparation of evidence-based guidelines and has been involved in teaching medical and science students on the treatment of alcohol and other drug users, evidence-based practice and critical appraisal of research.

Robert Ali

Associate Professor at University of Adelaide Associate Professor Robert Ali is a public health physician and specialist in addiction medicine who is passionate about training professionals in the field from around the world. He is the Director of a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Research into the Treatment of Drug and Alcohol Problems at the University of Adelaide and has recently retired from his position as the Director of Community Based Treatments at the Drug and Alcohol Services South Australia. Robert is a member of the Australian National Advisory Council on Alcohol and Drugs, member of the Cochrane Alcohol and Drug Group editorial board and the WHO Expert Advisory Panel on Drug Dependence and Alcohol Problems. Robert is also active in teaching undergraduate medical students and online training. Robert has chaired several reviews of the national methadone and/or buprenorphine policies. He was the lead researcher in South Australia for the National Evaluation of Pharmacotherapies for Opioid Dependence.

Abdallah Salem

Head of the Discipline of Pharmacology in the Faculty of Health Sciences at University of Adelaide Dr Abdallah Salem is an expert in the effects of drugs of abuse. He is the Head of the Discipline of Pharmacology in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Adelaide. He teaches pharmacology to all levels of students and across different programs. His teaching and research interests are focused on understanding the central mechanisms underlying the acute and chronic effects of drugs of abuse and dependence. Abdallah is a recipient of a number of learning and teaching grants and he assessed functionalities of various eLearning tools for lecture and other course content delivery.

About This Course:

This course will empower non-prescribing providers to directly impact the ongoing opioid crisis in the United States through increased knowledge and tools that will transform practice and policies. The course will inform you about the opioid epidemic and provide information and research about evidence-based strategies that are focused on prevention, intervention, education, or policy.

This open learning course is designed primarily for non-prescribing healthcare, behavioral health, dental and social services professionals, as well as graduate-level students in these fields. Other individuals may also benefit from this course such as educators and physicians. Continuing Education (CE) for licensure is available upon successful completion of course content.

As a learner, you have the ability to select any or all of the modules and topics that interest you. You can complete the course in a linear or non-linear structure according to your preferred viewing order. This course is taught by experts in the field of opioid prevention, intervention, treatment, and policy. Through lectures, panels and interviews, knowledge checks and quizzes, and additional readings and activities, you can explore topics that are most relevant to your work or practice.

The course was developed by three University of Michigan programs, including the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation (IHPI), Michigan-Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network (Michigan OPEN) and the CDC-funded University of Michigan Injury Prevention Center.

The University of Michigan Medical School designates this enduring material for a maximum of 15 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. The University of Michigan Medical School is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

This activity contributes to the CME component of the American Board of Anesthesiology’s redesigned Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology™ (MOCA®) program, known as MOCA 2.0®. Please consult the ABA website, www.theABA.org, for a list of all MOCA 2.0 requirements.

If you would like to earn CME/MOCA credit for participating in this course, please review the information here prior to beginning the activity.

This course is approved by the Michigan Social Work Continuing Education Collaborative-Approval #101619-02 for 15 CE hours. The Collaborative is the approving body for the Michigan Board of Social Work.

 

What You’ll Learn:

  • Explain the factors that contributed to the current opioid crisis.
  • Understand the pathophysiology of pain and its treatment, including what opioids are and how they work.
  • Understand how to reduce unintended use and misuse of opioids using various strategies, including prescribing guidelines, surveillance, safe disposal of unused opioids, and intervention messaging.
  • Identify what strategies and tools you can employ to impact the safe use of opioids across clinical care settings and with a variety of populations.
  • Describe best practices for assessing and treating opioid use disorder (OUD) and explain the evidence that informs these best practices.
  • Understand different aspects of public policy that can impact the opioid epidemic.

Meet Your Instructor:

Karen Farris

Professor of Clinical Pharmacy at Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation
Dr. Farris' health services research focuses on social theories to examine how individuals manage medications, and how pharmacists in primary care settings influence medication use. She studies individuals' medication adherence and reasons for non-adherence, including concern and necessity beliefs, and self-reporting adverse effects. She has quantified the impact of pharmacists’ care on medication adherence and health outcomes. Dr. Farris is a member of the IHPI Institute Leadership Team.

About this course

Master the fundamental components of advanced literature searching in the health sciences.

Informationist Mark MacEachern and a team of fellow health sciences informationists at the University of Michigan designed this course for anyone responsible for constructing literature searches as part of their research. This course will specifically help professionals and researchers in the health sciences improve the overall quality and reporting of their literature searches.

After completing the course, you will better understand the importance of literature searches in health sciences work, the components of effective searches, and best practices to sufficiently report the search process. All learners who rely heavily on past research in their project work – regardless of their experience or current competence – will benefit from this practical learning experience.

 

What you’ll learn

  • The components of advanced searches
  • How to identify the types of projects dependent on advanced searching
  • How to construct advanced searches
  • Ways to uncover search-related biases that impact projects
  • Procedures for citation management
  • Best practices for reporting search strategies

Meet your instructors

Mark MacEachern

Mark MacEachern

Health Sciences Informationist at Taubman Health Sciences Library, The University of Michigan
Mark MacEachern is a health sciences informationist at the University of Michigan Taubman Health Sciences Library. As an informationist, Mark teaches health sciences students about evidence-based practice and advanced search methodologies, and frequently collaborates with health professionals on review projects. In 2013, he co-developed the flipped, continuing education course Systematic Reviews: Opportunities for Librarians, which empowers information experts to engage in such projects, and lead the course through 2017. He has also been invited to join the faculty of the Medical Library Association's Research Training Institute, which will see its first cohort in 2018. Mark received his Master of Library and Information Science degree from the University of Western Ontario in 2007.

Jean Song

Health Sciences Informationist at Taubman Health Sciences Library, The University of Michigan
Jean Song is the Assistant Director for Academic and Clinical Engagement (ACE) for the University of Michigan’s (UM) Taubman Health Sciences Library (THL). She began her career as the Reference Coordinator at the Public Health Library & Informatics at UM and then moved to Pfizer Global Research and Development where she worked as a systems administrator and project manager for their document management and adverse event reporting systems. She returned to UM as the Bioinformationist for THL and a liaison to the National Center for Integrative Biomedical Informatics (NCBI). She then headed and built the Research and Informatics unit at THL and moved into her current role as the lead of ACE. The ACE unit at THL has responsibility for curricular integration and teaching and learning in departments across the schools of health sciences, expert searching and systematic reviews, and clinical information management services. Jean has her B.S. in biological sciences from Stanford University and her MSI from the UM’s School of Information.

Tyler Nix

Health Sciences Informationist at Taubman Health Sciences Library, The University of Michigan
Tyler Nix is an informationist at the University of Michigan Taubman Health Sciences Library, where he partners with health sciences students and faculty on education and research projects related to advanced literature searches, research impact metrics and tools, and data visualization resources. Prior to the University of Michigan, he was an Associate Fellow at the National Library of Medicine. Tyler received his Master of Science in Library Science degree from the University of Kentucky in 2015.

Judith Smith

Health Sciences Informationist at Taubman Health Sciences Library, The University of Michigan
Judy Smith is a Health Sciences Informationist at the Taubman Health Sciences Library (THL), at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Judy partners with faculty, students, and staff in the Department of Health Policy and Management in the School of Public Health. In that role, she works to integrate information skills and resources into the curriculum, providing numerous instruction sessions and consultations on advanced literature review techniques. Additionally, Judy engages with public health research initiatives, especially as they relate to health policy. She also serves as a point person for information needs at an interdisciplinary research complex, the North Campus Research Complex (NCRC), which houses the Institute for Health Care Policy and Innovation. Judy is also working with a team of informationists at THL on a mixed methods study to measure the library’s impact patient and population care. Judy holds a Master of Science, Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois, Champaign Urbana, and a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Michigan.

About this course

Are you a mental health provider who wants to more effectively work with the increasing spiritual and religious diversity in your clients? Do you know how to help clients who encounter spiritual and religious distress? Or how to harness clients’ spiritual resources to support positive therapeutic outcomes? If so, this course is for you!

Spiritual Competency Training in Mental Health is a program designed to train mental health providers in basic spiritual and religious competencies. Taught by instructors who are experts in the field of religion/spirituality and mental health, this course will equip providers with greater confidence and competence helping clients with religious and spiritual issues. The program focuses on core spiritual competencies (knowledge, skills, and attitudes) that underlie effective mental health care and are common to mental health disciplines and therapeutic orientations. Basic competency in spiritual and religious issues in mental health is an ethical requirement for most professional boards and associations related to mental health clinical practice. Yet, few of us received this training in our graduate programs. This program bridges the current training gap.

The program consists of eight modules and takes about six to eight hours to complete. The modules consist of engaging learning activities, such as watching brief videos, reading text screens, listening to audio clips, and completing short reflection questions and knowledge check questions.

Mental health professionals (MD, PhD, Master’s level, and trainees) of all disciplines are welcome to participate. Therapists who complete the program will be eligible for 6 CE credits.

 

What you’ll learn

  • How to integrate spirituality and religion into clinical practice
  • Common stereotypes about religion/spirituality (RS)
  • The diversity of RS expressions (e.g., spiritual/religious beliefs, practices, and experiences)
  • Why it is important to address RS in treatment
  • The importance of the therapist’s own RS attitudes, beliefs, and practices
  • How to assess RS in clinical practice
  • How to help clients access RS resources
  • How to respond to RS problems that arise in treatment.

Prerequisites

Completed or currently enrolled in a professional graduate program for mental health (e.g., Master’s, PhD, MD, or trainee).

Frequently asked questions

Question:
Does this program qualify for continuing education (CE) credits?

Answer:
Yes! Upon completion of this program, you will be eligible for 6 CE credits. This program is co-sponsored by the Maryland Psychological Association and the Maryland Psychological Association Foundation. The Maryland Psychological Association is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Maryland Psychological Association maintains responsibility for this program and its content. It is the participant’s responsibility to check with their professional licensing board to see if these CE credits are applicable in his or her jurisdiction.

Who can take this course?

Unfortunately, learners from one or more of the following countries or regions will not be able to register for this course: Iran, Cuba and the Crimea region of Ukraine. While edX has sought licenses from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to offer our courses to learners in these countries and regions, the licenses we have received are not broad enough to allow us to offer this course in all locations. EdX truly regrets that U.S. sanctions prevent us from offering all of our courses to everyone, no matter where they live.

Meet your instructors

Michelle Pearce

Assistant Professor, Program Director, Graduate School at University of Maryland, Baltimore
Michelle Pearce, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Graduate School at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Dr. Pearce is also a clinical psychologist who researches the relationship between religion/spirituality, coping, and health, as well as the integration of spirituality into the practice of psychotherapy. She received her Ph.D. from Yale University and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) at Duke University Medical Center and a second fellowship in Spirituality and Health at the Duke Center for Spirituality, Theology, and Health. She directs three graduate certificate programs: Aging and Applied Thanatology, Integrative Health and Wellness, and Science Communication. She is the author of the book Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Christians with Depression: A Practical, Tool-Based Primer . Her areas of clinical expertise include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, spiritual and existential issues, mind-body stress reduction methods, and behavioral medicine to address the intersection of mental and physical illness.

Kenneth Pargament

Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Bowling Green State University
Kenneth Pargament is a Ph. D. in clinical psychology, professor emeritus of psychology at Bowling Green State University, and Adjunct Professor in the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences of the Baylor College of Medicine. He has published over 300 articles on religion, spirituality, and health, and authored The Psychology of Religion and Coping: Theory, Research, Practice and Spiritually Integrated Psychotherapy: Understanding and Addressing the Sacred. Dr. Pargament is Editor-in-Chief of the 2013 two-volume APA Handbook of Psychology, Religion, and Spirituality. Among his awards are the Oskar Pfister Award from the American Psychiatric Association in 2009, the Distinguished Service Award from the Association of Professional Chaplains in 2015, and the first Outstanding Applied Psychology of Religion and Spirituality Award from the American Psychological Association in 2017. He was recently cited as “One of the 50 Most Influential Living Psychologists in the World.” His current research interests focus on religious and spiritual struggles and spiritually integrated psychotherapy.

Learner testimonials

“This training has definitely increased my comfort level in integrating spiritualty and religion more often with the clients that I see. In addition, it has increased my therapeutic confidence in knowing where to go when this presents as a piece of a client’s identity and/or the presenting concern.”

Previous Participant

“This training has definitely increased my comfort level in integrating spiritualty and religion more often with the clients that I see. In addition, it has increased my therapeutic confidence in knowing where to go when this presents as a piece of a client’s identity and/or the presenting concern.”

Previous Participant

About This Course:

Despite medical and technological advances, half of the world’s population lacks access to essential health services, and over 8.9 million preventable deaths occur every year. There is an acute global shortage of health workers, a gap that will grow to 18 million by 2030. Studies show that training high-performing community health workers can help close these gaps and save more than 3 million lives annually.

In the past few decades, many community health worker programs across the world have demonstrated their ability to save lives — including in the hardest-to-reach areas. Yet despite this progress, lessons on how to successfully scale these programs as part of national primary health systems are not widely shared.

This course introduces learners to the core concepts of community health worker programs, and explores what is needed to build and strengthen large-scale programs in order to improve access to high-quality health services. The curriculum highlights the key components of designing community health systems, addresses common management challenges, and showcases lessons learned from a range of contributors — from community-level practitioners to government leaders and other global health experts. Through case studies of exemplar countries (including Ethiopia, Bangladesh, and Liberia), participants will learn from leaders across the globe how to advocate for, build, and optimize community health worker programs.

This course was created by health systems leaders for health systems leaders. Whether you work in a Ministry of Health, lead or support a community health worker program, mobilize resources and advocate for increased investment in community health, or you are simply interested in knowing what it takes to deliver quality care through community health worker programs, learners will have the opportunity to advance their knowledge and skills to implement critical change. This course can be taken individually, but learners are also encouraged to convene their colleagues from within or across organizations to share insights and further enhance the learning experience.

What You’ll Learn:

  • Core concepts in community health as part of primary health systems
  • Key components in the design and optimization of community health worker programs as exemplified through country case studies
  • How to advocate for community health worker programs with key stakeholders
  • The evidence demonstrating the impact and returns of community health workers
  • How to build coalitions to support government-led programs
  • How to break down silos and reduce duplicative efforts in the wider community health ecosystem
  • The common issues that arise in implementing community health worker programs at scale

Meet The Instructor:

Rajesh Ramesh Panjabi

Assistant Professor Harvard Medical School at Harvard University
Dr Raj Panjabi is Founder of the Community Health Academy, CEO of Last Mile Health, and an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham & Women’s Hospital. Dr. Panjabi grew up in Liberia and fled Liberia’s civil war with his family when he was nine years old. He returned to Liberia as a medical student and in 2007, where he co-founded Last Mile Health, a non-profit organization partnering with governments to invest in teams of community and frontline health workers who extend the reach of primary health care to the world’s most remote communities. Last Mile Health and a global faculty network are building the Community Health Academy (led by Executive Director, Magnus Conteh), a global platform leveraging the power of digital technology to support countries to modernize the training of community health workers and health systems leaders. Panjabi has worked on rural community-based primary health care systems in Alaska, Liberia, and Afghanistan. Panjabi is a Gavi Champion, member of the International Advisory Group for Frontlines First at the Global Financing Facility, advisor to the Community Health Roadmap, and a member of the Community Health Worker Hub at the World Health Organization, where he served on the External Review Group for the WHO's guidelines on health policy and system support to optimize community health worker programs. Panjabi has authored or co-authored over 50 publications. He has chaired a global study with the Gates Ventures and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation investigating lessons learned from exemplar community-based health care programs. For his work on building rural and community-based primary health care systems, Panjabi was named by TIME as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World and one of the 50 Most Influential People in Healthcare. He has also been listed as one of the World's 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune. Panjabi is a recipient of the TED Prize, the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship and is a Schwab Social Entrepreneur with the World Economic Forum. Panjabi is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and trained in internal medicine and primary care at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He received a Master of Public Health in epidemiology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How is the honor code upheld?
HarvardX requires individuals who enroll in its courses on edX to abide by the terms of the edX honor code. HarvardX will take appropriate corrective action in response to violations of the edX honor code, which may include dismissal from the HarvardX course; revocation of any certificates received for the HarvardX course; or other remedies as circumstances warrant. No refunds will be issued in the case of corrective action for such violations. Enrollees who are taking HarvardX courses as part of another program will also be governed by the academic policies of those programs.

How does my participation contribute to research?
By registering as an online learner in our open online courses, you are also participating in research intended to enhance HarvardX’s instructional offerings as well as the quality of learning and related sciences worldwide. In the interest of research, you may be exposed to some variations in the course materials. HarvardX does not use learner data for any purpose beyond the University’s stated missions of education and research. For purposes of research, we may share information we collect from online learning activities, including Personally Identifiable Information, with researchers beyond Harvard. However, your Personally Identifiable Information will only be shared as permitted by applicable law, will be limited to what is necessary to perform the research, and will be subject to an agreement to protect the data. We may also share with the public or third parties aggregated information that does not personally identify you. Similarly, any research findings will be reported at the aggregate level and will not expose your personal identity.

Please read the edX Privacy Policy for more information regarding the processing, transmission, and use of data collected through the edX platform.

How are non-discrimination and anti-harassment supported?
Harvard University and HarvardX are committed to maintaining a safe and healthy educational and work environment in which no member of the community is excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination or harassment in our program. All members of the HarvardX community are expected to abide by Harvard policies on nondiscrimination, including sexual harassment, and the edX Terms of Service. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact harvardx@harvard.edu and/or report your experience through the edX contact form.