Every year, since 2013, Physiopedia has produced and hosted a free massive open online course (MOOC). We have delivered a wide range of MOOCs over the past six years, and in late 2019 we added the Traumatic Brain Injury Programme to our growing list. The course ran from October 21st, 2019 to November 30th, and participants from 185 countries came together to learn about this important topic. This course was requested and funded by a private donation, and Humanity & Inclusion will be providing a French translation in early 2020.
This course aimed to provide a basic theoretical understanding of the management of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) to equip physiotherapists with sufficient knowledge to manage a person following a traumatic brain injury. The course included education on assessing impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions, setting appropriate goals for treatment, formulating an evidence-based treatment plan, implementing treatment, and evaluating treatment success.
The content of this course was designed to be suitable for for physiotherapists all over the world. Although geared towards physiotherapy, healthcare providers from any location and context were invited and encouraged to participate. The course was free and open for anyone to participate, which allowed for global conversation around this topic and enabled peer-to-peer learning across contexts and experiences.
Behind the scenes
This course would not have been possible without the hard work, dedication, and commitment of its course coordinator and course facilitators; Rachael Lowe, Naomi O’Reilly, Anna Zeimer, Wendy Walker. The course also would not have been possible without the content contributors either; this list is long and is available within the report. We want to send a big thank you to the course facilitators and all of the content creators in our Physiopedia community.
Who took part?
A total of 4,028 people from 185 countries took part in the course, with 821 individuals residing in low and middle income settings. Almost 80% of the course participants were physiotherapists, with the remaining participants coming from a wide range of healthcare professions.
What did the course involve?
The four courses included a total of 53 required learning activities. To complete each course participants were required to fully engage with all the related required learning activities and pass the course quiz. Once the quiz and all learning requirements were successfully completed, Physioplus points (P+; equivalent to hours of learning) were awarded.
Each course contained an optional 3-5 discussions. Learners were encouraged to engage with knowledge users from around the world on different topics associated with the course. These discussions were intended to provide a rich learning experience to the learner through self-reflection and community engagement. There were a total of 6,260 discussion posts over the 4 weeks of the program.
What did the participants say about the course?
After the completion of each course, learners had the option to share their feedback on the course. Over 82% of the respondents for each course rated the course as either great or excellent. Participants were also encouraged to share how this course may inform their own clinical practices. From the feedback we received, we are confident that the TBI Programme was able to improve the learners’ awareness of the role physiotherapists can play in the assessment and management of TBIs. Learners emphasized that they acquired a new appreciation for how to incorporate the ICF model into the care they provide individuals who have sustained a TBI which ultimately improves their clinical practices.
Final thoughts
Physiopedia successfully delivered a MOOC on Traumatic Brain Injury Programme over four weeks in October/November 2019. Over 4,000 learners from around the world completed one or more of the courses provided within the program. It is evident from learners’ feedback that learners gained a new appreciation for the role physiotherapists play in the assessment, management, and treatment of individuals who have sustained a TBI. It is apparent from the course registration data that this course was a topic that was important to physiotherapists and healthcare providers. Future Physiopedia MOOCs will build on the feedback received from learners in this program to improve resources, attrition, and engagement throughout the entire course.
Future Physiopedia MOOCs
We are still planning for Physiopedia’s MOOC for 2020. If you are part of a non-governmental organisation, educational establishment, or professional network and would like to partner with Physiopedia to sponsor the next MOOC please do not hesitate to reach out to us.
Physiopedia has a successful, workable model for running open online courses, and the collaboration essentially runs like this:
- Physiopedia provides all the administration for the course including e-learning development, hosting, promotion, registrations, accreditation and certification
- The partner (organisation, university, professional association, clinical network) provides the content and the instructors.
If you would like to run a MOOC, please contact Rachael Lowe by email: [email protected]. We will discuss your ideas with you and collaborate with you to present your MOOC to the international physiotherapy or physical therapy community.