Introduction

This course is designed to provide information on the threats to the health of refugees and asylum seekers, and canvass potential methods to help improve the situation. The focus is global, with a specific focus on refugees settled in developed countries. We begin with this introduction, some definitions and data on numbers.

The course is designed to help you: 

1. Consider the causes and impacts of health effects within the environment in which refugees find themselves. 
2. Cover all issues of importance and concern for the health of refugees (Communicable diseases, Mental health, Violence in camps, Maternal and child health, Human rights, and Access to health services).
3. Present evidence regarding how we should provide healthcare to refugees on settlement in their country of refuge (there is special reference to screening and mental health).
4. Explore the politics surrounding refugees and asylum seekers by showing that it is a  global issue, but that it has a special set of resources in Australia.
5. Describe the size of the refugee and asylum-seeking problem globally, the health problems faced by this group and some of the politics surrounding the issue.

This course is an Open Online Course (OOC) and was created by Professor Dick Heller, with advice from Dr. Mitchell Smith of the NSW Refugee Health Service, Professor Mark Harris of the University of New South Wales, and Lucy Morgan of the Refugee Council of Australia. It has been adopted from Peoples-uni and was further developed by NextGenU.org (NGU). 

There are five (5) modules to complete, which include:

Module 1: The Refugee Problem
Module 2: Details of Health Effects on Refugees
Module 3: Models of Healthcare for Settled Refugees
Module 4: Politics - A Global Issue
Module 5: What Can We Do?

Approximate time for completion of this course is 5 hours at an average reading rate of 144 words/minute.

Engaging with this course

• To register for this course, complete the registration form. Begin the course with Module 1. For each lesson, read the description. 
• Each lesson comprises introductory remarks. You can click on the collections of resources in each module. 
• There is a forum on each module for reflection, and you will be able to add a new topic or respond to a previous one. You may want to share your learning from this and other readings, comment on the topics from your own experience, comment on others' posts, or provide feedback on how we can improve the content and/or presentation.
• There is a final quiz to assess your understanding of some important concepts. Click on the hyperlinks to take you to these items in each topic.

Requirements to obtain the certificate 

You may browse this course for free to learn for your personal enrichment. There are no requirements.

To obtain a certificate, a learner must successfully complete:

• All reading requirements
• All discussion forums
• The final exam with a minimum of 80% and a maximum of 3 attempts 
• The self and course evaluation forms

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