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. 2020 Apr 27;22(4):e19076.
doi: 10.2196/19076.

Global Reach of an Online COVID-19 Course in Multiple Languages on OpenWHO in the First Quarter of 2020: Analysis of Platform Use Data

Heini Utunen  1 , Ngouille Ndiaye  1 , Corentin Piroux  1 , Richelle George  1 , Melissa Attias  1 , Gaya Gamhewage  1
Affiliations

Global Reach of an Online COVID-19 Course in Multiple Languages on OpenWHO in the First Quarter of 2020: Analysis of Platform Use Data

Heini Utunen et al. J Med Internet Res. .

Abstract

Background: At the onset of the coronavirus outbreak, the World Health Organization's (WHO) Health Emergencies Learning and Capacity Development Unit, together with the WHO's health technical lead on coronaviruses, developed a massive open online course within 3 weeks as part of the global response to the emergency. The introductory coronavirus disease (COVID‑19) course was launched on January 26, 2020, on the health emergencies learning platform OpenWHO.org.

Objective: The aim of this paper is to investigate the geographic reach of different language courses accessed by a worldwide audience seeking information on COVID-19. Users' professional identities and backgrounds were explored to inform course owners on the use case. The course was developed and delivered via the open-access learning platform OpenWHO.org. The self-paced resources are available in a total of 13 languages and were produced between January 26 and March 25, 2020.

Methods: Data were collected from the online courses' statistical data and metrics reporting system on the OpenWHO platform. User patterns and locations were analyzed based on Google Analytics and the platform's own statistics capabilities, and data sets were overlaid. This analysis was conducted based on user location, with the data disaggregated according to the six WHO regions, the top 10 countries, and the proportion of use for each language version. Data included affiliation, gender, age, and other parameters for 32.43% (52,214/161,007) of the users who indicated their background.

Results: As of March 25, 2020, the introductory COVID-19 course totaled 232,890 enrollments across all languages. The Spanish language course was comprised of more than half (n=118,754, 50.99%) of all course enrollments, and the English language course was comprised of 38.21% (n=88,988) of enrollments. The WHO's Region of the Americas accounted for most of the course enrollments, with more than 72.47% (138,503/191,130) enrollment across all languages. Other regions were more evenly distributed with less than 10% enrollment for each. A total of 32.43% (52,214/161,007) of users specified a professional affiliation by choosing from the 12 most common backgrounds in the OpenWHO user profiles. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, users were spread over the 11 distinct affiliations, with a small fraction of users identifying themselves as "Other." With the COVID-19 introductory course, the largest number of users selected "Other" (16,527/52,214, 31.65%), suggesting a large number of users who were not health professionals or academics. The top 10 countries with the most users across all languages were Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, India, Mexico, Peru, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Conclusions: The online course has addressed a worldwide learning need by providing WHO's technical guidance packaged in simple formats for access and use. The learning material development was expedited to meet the onset of the epidemic. Initial data suggest that the various language versions of the course, in particular Spanish, have reached new user groups, fulfilling the platform's aim of providing learning everywhere to anyone that is interested. User surveys will be carried out to measure the real impact.

Keywords: COVID-19; MOOC; OpenWHO; WHO; coronavirus; e-learning; novel coronavirus; online learning; pandemic; public health.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Introduction to coronavirus disease course languages and enrollment figures as of March 27, 2020.
Figure 2
Figure 2
World Health Organization regions.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Introduction to coronavirus disease course use by language as of March 25, 2020.
Figure 4
Figure 4
OpenWHO courses hosted on the Pan-American Health Organization virtual campus as of March 27, 2020. COVID-19: coronavirus disease.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Users from the top 10 countries and their affiliations. GOARN: Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network; NGO: nongovernmental organization; WHO: World Health Organization.
Figure 6
Figure 6
English course use by age groups.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Spanish course use by age groups.
Figure 8
Figure 8
OpenWHO accumulated enrollments from June 30, 2017, to March 27, 2020. COVID-19: coronavirus disease.
Figure 9
Figure 9
OpenWHO courses related to COVID-19 and language versions as of March 27, 2020. COVID-19: coronavirus disease.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Timeline of all OpenWHO.org COVID-19 courses' launch and use. COVID-19: coronavirus disease; IPC: infection prevention and control; PHEIC: Public Health Emergency of International Concern; SARI: severe acute respiratory infection; UNCT: UN country teams; WHO: World Health Organization.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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