by Erica Frank (2008-07-06)
I would like to alert those interested in shared materials to Health Sciences Online (www.hso.info). HSO has been called “a visionary undertaking” (by former CDC Director Jeff Koplan), is expected to “globally democratize health science knowledge” (by World Bank), and is thought by WHO “to make a considerable contribution to the advancement of e-learning worldwide.”
HSO is a sieve that includes world-class materials (currently numbering >50,000 resources), hand-selected by clinicians from already-existing reliable sources and resource collections. This includes medical specialty societies, accredited continuing education organizations, governments, and top-ranked universities such as Columbia, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, MIT, Penn, and UCSF. Founding collaborators for this site include WHO, CDC, NATO, World Bank, the American College of Preventive Medicine, and our home institution, UBC. HSO is non-profit; funding has been obtained from the Canadian and British Columbian governments, WHO, NATO, the Ulrich and Ruth Frank Foundation for International Health, and several generous and committed individuals. Health providers and scientists, in training and in practice, have donated thousands of hours, identifying and making materials accessible for HSO users.
Health sciences information and training are vital for health and socioeconomic development, but excellent, free learning resources are difficult to find. In recent years, information and communication technologies, particularly the Internet, have been central to remedying this situation. But there are still significant hurdles to accessing online content. WHO and others have shown that there is an enormous need to identify selective, current, accessible online educational and training resources to promote appropriate care and policies. In our 2007, 11-country pilot, nearly all users indicated that the HSO website will make their work more effective and productive, help them learn, and increase their motivation and interest in learning.
HSO will launch in Summer 2008 as a virtual learning center with browse and search functions. HSO provides free, online linkages to a comprehensive collection of top-quality courses and references in medicine, public health, pharmacy, dentistry, nursing, basic sciences, and other health sciences disciplines. These materials are donated, hosted, and maintained by our distinguished content partners, so quality is maintained, and materials can be constantly updated.
For more information or to contribute, contact Erica Frank, MD, MPH, HSO Founder/Executive Director, efrank@emory.edu or Erica.Frank@ubc.ca
