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Learning health systems

10 Weeks
Intermediate
22 lessons
5 quizzes
69 students

Health systems constantly adjust and change. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are learning through that process! When learning does occur, it is by making the link between past actions, the effectiveness of those actions and future action. 

Learning is increasingly recognized as an essential foundation for strong health systems and the achievement of health-related goals. While learning has been a key strategy for many health systems in recent decades, further investment in learning in low- and middle-income (LMIC) contexts is needed for those systems to perform optimally.  

This course will provide a comprehensive framework and a related set of diverse real-life examples of learning from across regions of the world.  

Overall objectives of the course: 

  1. Articulate the value and uses of learning health systems in supporting continuous improvements and strengthening of health systems.
  2. Explain the components of learning health systems—including levels, loops, and means—and how they manifest and function in practice.
  3. Describe the benefits of effective learning health systems.
  4. Describe enablers and barriers to building learning health systems.
  5. Assess key components and action items necessary to build learning health systems in your own work.
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Alliance for HPSR

The Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (the Alliance) promotes the generation and use of health policy and systems research as a means to strengthen the health systems of LMICs. We are an international partnership hosted by the World Health Organization.
Each module involves content that would take between 1-1.5 hours to complete. It is anticipated that the whole course would take around 5-8 hours. We recommend one module per week, but it can be done more quickly.
Each of the five modules has a knowledge check quiz, with the final module quiz including a set of additional summative questions to synthesize the learnings from the course. In total, the assessment questions add up to 100 possible points, and overall 80 points are required to pass.
This course was developed based on content from the Alliance’s flagship report on learning health systems edited by Dr Kabir Sheikh and Dr Ṣẹ̀yẹ Abímbọ́lá. The course development was supported by the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research. Content development was supported by Dr Meike Schleiff and Mr Jeff Knezovich to adapt the course content to an online delivery format.
This course is free and open to anyone to access and complete.
In addition to this self-led online module, the Alliance has also developed course materials that can be delivered as a course delivered by a facilitator. This includes slides, facilitators notes and handouts. If you are interested in finding out more about this version of the course, please get in touch at alliancehpsr@who.int.
Yes, this course is underpinned by several in-depth literature reviews and the deep knowledge of learning theories and concepts by the editors of the learning health systems flagship report as well as other contributors. You will see other theories, including organizational learning theories, reflected within the framework that was developed by the Alliance for HPSR for their report.

Features

  • Animated videos on core concepts and examples
  • Reading materials
  • Practical case studies
  • Knowledge check quizzes
  • Certificate of completion

Target audiences

  • Individuals interested in furthering learning for themselves and/or the teams, organizations, and systems that they work with and within
  • Staff at ministries of health
  • Health programme managers
  • Staff at other organizations partnering with implementers
  • Students (graduate and undergraduate) who are interested in leadership and management skills
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