JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are increasingly used to educate healthcare workers in low-income and lower-middle-income countries (LICs/LMICs). Early in 2020, the World Health Organization developed a series of MOOCs for COVID-19, introducing the disease and strategies to control its outbreak, with six courses specifically targeting healthcare workers as learners. In August 2020, Stanford University also launched a MOOC, the “COVID-19 Training for Healthcare Workers”, designed to deliver accurate and timely education on COVID-19 for healthcare workers across the globe, improving their ability to provide healthcare safely and effectively to patients suffering from the novel infectious disease. While MOOCs in LICs/LMICs have expanded during the COVID-19 public health emergency, more descriptive data is needed in the literature regarding healthcare participants' characteristics and motivations for enrolling in MOOCs.

Objective:

In this study, we conducted a descriptive analysis of the types of healthcare workers who enrolled in COVID-19 MOOCs. Furthermore, we sought insight into healthcare workers' motivations for enrolling in and completing COVID-19 MOOCs. Previous studies have shown that a primary intrinsic motivator for MOOC enrollment generally is for their personal interest or knowledge acquisition; however, there is minimal available data on motivating factors for enrollment in healthcare-specific MOOCs. We aimed to understand better the types of learners who enroll in healthcare-related MOOCs and their motivations for participation.

Methods:

Surveys were distributed to all course completers of six OpenWHO COVID-19 courses and Stanford’s “COVID-19 Training for Healthcare Workers” course. This study combines enrollment data, with survey responses, including demographic data, ranked motivations for course enrollment, and perceptions of the MOOCs.

Results:

Among healthcare workers, the primary motivator for COVID-19 MOOC enrollment generally and across subgroup analyses was to improve clinical practice and for personal learning. To earn a certificate ranked consistently as a middle-tier motivator. However, 70% of respondents reported they chose to earn the certificate, with 59% indicating they would provide a copy to their employer and 63% indicating they would use the certificate to fulfill continuing education requirements.

Conclusions:

The results demonstrate that the primary reason most healthcare workers enrolled in COVID-19-related MOOCs was for clinical practice improvement and personal learning. Furthermore, most healthcare workers used course certificates professionally. Identifying the motivations for specific groups of learners, like those in LICs/LMICs, will help the future design of MOOCs to encourage participation and completion.