An international planetary health for primary care massive open online course.

In this Viewpoint we argue that primary care practitioners should receive professional education in how to directly respond to planetary health challenges. We reflect on the provision of a massive open online course (MOOC) on planetary health for primary care practitioners in the context of existing training programmes. We describe the construction, delivery, and certification of a Global South-originated MOOC and explain aspects of its rhizomatic learning theory. We share baseline information and preliminary findings collected on the initial cohort of participants, including their profiles and previous knowledge about planetary health. We suggest that this MOOC is an appropriate response to planetary health challenges, and argue that cost-free, accredited planetary health education for primary care practitioners should be provided as a public good that also fulfils individual professionals' entitlement to quality education and continuing professional development.

Development and Assessment of a Brazilian Pilot Massive Open Online Course in Planetary Health Education: An Innovative Model for Primary Care Professionals and Community Training.

Introduction: Planetary health (PH) has emerged as a leading field for raising awareness, debating, and finding solutions for the health impacts of human-caused disruptions to Earth's natural systems. PH education addresses essential questions of how humanity inhabits Earth, and how humans affect, and are affected by, natural systems. A pilot massive open online course (MOOC) in PH was created in Brazil in 2020. This MOOC capitalized on the global online pivot, to make the course accessible to a broader audience. This study describes the process of course creation and development and assesses the impact evaluation data and student outcomes of the PH MOOC. Methods: The PH MOOC pilot was launched in Brazilian Portuguese, using the TelessaúdeRS-UFRGS platform on 4/27/2020 and concluded on 7/19/2020 with a total load of 80 h. It was composed of 8 content modules, pre and post-test, 10 topics in a forum discussion, and an optional action plan. This study analyzes the course database, profile of participants, answers to questionnaires, forum interaction, and action plans submitted. Results: Two thousand seven hundred seventy-seven participants enrolled in the course, of which 1,237 (44.54%) gave informed consent for this study. Of the 1,237 participants who agreed to participate in the research, 614 (49.8%) completed the course, and 569 (92.67%) were accredited by TelessaúdeRS-UFRGS. The majority of the participants were concerned with climate change, trained in the health area, and worked in primary health care in places that lacked ongoing sustainability programs. Two hundred forty-one action plans were submitted, major topics identified were food and nutrition, infectious diseases, and garbage and recycling. Discussion: The use of the PH lens and open perspective of the course centered the need to communicate planetary health topics to individuals. The local plans reflected the motto of "think global and act local." Brazil presents a context of an unprecedented social, political, and environmental crisis, with massive deforestation, extensive fires, and biomass burning altering the biomes, on top of an ongoing necropolitical infodemic and COVID-19 pandemic. In the face of these multiple challenges, this MOOC offers a timely resource for health professionals and communities, encouraging them to address planetary challenges as fundamental health determinants.

Re-interpreting the citizen consumer: alternative consumer activism and the rights to health and development.

Alternative Southern consumer activism, undertaken for example by the Consumers' Association of Penang (CAP) in Malaysia, presents significant sites of nodal governance through which local and global health rights are claimed. This alternative consumer approach distinctively integrates health with development, social justice and environmental issues. It has not always explicitly employed rights language, but consumer activism fits with rights-based approaches, emphasising entitlements, accountability and participation. This case-study traces the development of networked consumer campaigns to contest and shape global health governance. It highlights the important, yet under-researched role of Southern nodes within global networks mobilizing health rights and public health. Alternative consumer activism re-interprets the consumer as a countervailing force, collectively mobilizing citizens to claim their health rights.