EUREGHA is happy to present the new Massive Open Online Course on “Strengthening territorial response for better health” developed under the PERISCOPE project (‘Pan-European Response to the Impacts of the COVID-19 and future Pandemics and Epidemics’) together with AQuAS (Agència de Qualitat I Avaluació Sanitàries de Catalunya) and Mental Health Europe, and with the special contribution of associate partners – and EUREGHA’s members – AreSS Puglia and GGD Zuid Limburg / euPrevent, who kindly provided their expertise, experience, and vision on the topics addressed.

With the goal of strengthening Europe’s resilience and preparing it for future major hazards, PERISCOPE is funded by the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme, and looks at the wide socio-economic and behavioural effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, this course will guide you throughout a journey of highly engaging lessons in which theoretical aspects and practical cases will be mixed, listening to the voices and experiences of experts and regional representatives, on four topics that proved to be critical during the COVID-19 pandemic: procurement lines, digital transformation, cross-border cooperation, and mental health.

You will be taken through four modules to explore how crucial challenges have been faced by decision-makers in the regional settings: videos will include lectures from experts, case studies and interviews, and additional material will be available for further exploring the themes. By the course’s conclusion, you will understand more about the key concepts and tools needed to get regions more prepared for future large-scale risks.

The course is available on the e-learning platform Coursera and consists of 12 online recorded lectures, each enriched with readings and quizzes. It is entirely free of charge and administered in a self-paced learning modality, allowing learners to reset and adapt deadlines in accordance with their own schedules.

Here is a sneak peek at the four modules:

  1. Procurement during the pandemic: items not to be missed – During a severe emergency like a pandemic, it is not so important how to buy but rather what to buy immediately, assuming that the imminent danger still allows extraordinary and fast procurement procedures. And there are things you cannot do without. Deeping dive into the experience of AReSS Puglia (the Strategic Agency for Health and Social Care of Apulia region, IT), this module aims to explore four main procurement lines that can be crucial for health authorities in planning and setting up a timely and effective response to the outbreak of a health emergency.

Lecturers: Giovanni Gorgoni, CEO of AReSS Puglia and chairman of EUREGHA, and Francesco Fera, Managing Director at AReSS Puglia.

  1. Digitalisation and transformation of healthcare systems. This module explores digital transformation and change management in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and gives an introduction to the evaluation of digital health technologies, the whole seasoned by the experience and vision of the Catalan region.

Lecturer: Carme Carrion-Ribas, Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Open University of Catalonia.

  1. The importance of Euregional cooperation. Nowadays, structured and sustainable Euregional collaboration in the field of public health is crucial. Based on the experience gained by euPrevent and GGD Limburg in dealing with cross-border cooperation, you will have a taste of what it means from research, policy and citizens’ perspectives.

Lecturers: Brigitte van der Zanden, Director at euPrevent, and Christian Hoebe, Professor and chair of the department of Social Medicine at Maastricht University.

  1. Ending stigma and improving mental health. You will have the opportunity to hear directly from experts on the harmful effects of stigma on mental health, with a particular eye on the relevant policy interventions and implementations necessary to improve the current situation.

Lecturers: Claudia Marinetti, Director, MHE, Laura Marchetti, Policy Manager, MHE, Fatima Awil, Policy and Knowledge Officer, MHE, Dominique de Marné, Senior Policy Advisor on Youth, MHE, and Oliver Cullen, Mental Health Expert, Mental Health Ireland

You don’t have to be an expert to take part in this MOOC, interest in public health and healthcare is all you need! Get enrolled by clicking on this button:

If you want to get a taste of all the PERISCOPE MOOCs, including ours, you can sign up for the introductory course “Tools and Practices for Addressing Pandemic Challenges”, where you can find an overview of all the courses offered by PERISCOPE.