OpenCourseWare disseminates public health knowledge to the world

The objective of this presentation is to provide information about and to encourage participation in open content publishing of public health education materials that will benefit the public health workforce. Johns Hopkins School of Public Health OpenCourseWare (JHSPH OCW; http://ocw.jhsph.edu) provides free Web-based access to primary and supporting content from didactic courses (lecture notes, slides, assignments, reading lists, etc.). During 2006, OCW user traffic originated from the following regions: North America (83.2%), Asia (6.45%), Europe (6%), the Middle East (1.67%), Australia/Pacific (1.39%), Latin America (0.77%), and Africa (0.52%). Results from ongoing surveys suggest that more than half (52%) of OCW users are self-learners with an interest in public health; other major user categories include students (24%) and educators (15%). Most visitors (57%) intend to learn subject matter to enhance personal knowledge, and public health practitioners and self-learners use OCW to keep current in the development of their professional fields. Schools of public health should take this opportunity to develop or participate in such a concept. Experiences at JHSPH, including anecdotal evidence and the growing volume of courses, indicate increasing faculty participation, as OCW provides benefits to all learners and also aids in the promotional process. Barriers to participation include concerns of ownership and intellectual property, loss of future revenue opportunity, and extra workload. Sustainability of the program will require support from school administration and faculty, funding from both internal and external sources, and dedicated IT/OCW staff.