Open Online Courses

About Open Online Courses[edit | edit source]

Open online courses are courses running purely in an online environment that is open for anyone to participate in. These online courses are referred to as "open" because:

  • the course takes place in an area that is open for anyone to read, reflect and comment upon,
  • they are free,
  • the content and work done in the course are shared between all people taking the course.


These courses are often referred to as MOOCs - massive open online courses - as they can generate huge participation.  

Open Online Courses in Physiopedia[edit | edit source]

Part of the Physiopedia objectives is to provide at least one free course each year. These are the courses that have been delivered:

Date Course Topic Articles Created Pageviews Course Registrants Number of Countries Represented Participants from LMICs*
2013 Professional Ethics n/a n/a 88 8 52
2014 Spinal Cord Injuries n/a n/a 3,500 110 95
2015 Amputee Rehabilitation 26 129,899 7,639 150 421
2016 Physical Activity 44 82,647 8,482 157 191
2016 Cerebral Palsy 25 193,299 14,010 179 651
2017 Clubfoot 25 36,243 7,277 156 387
2018 Wheelchair Service Provision 25 57,718 5,559 148 601
2019 Traumatic Brain Injury Programme 33 91,221 20,522 185 821
2020 Coronavirus Disease Programme 19 358, 611 166,870 214 n/a
2021 Understanding Rehabilitation as Health Strategy 38 91,221 10,703 107 823
2022 Understanding the Rehabilitation Needs of Displaced Persons 24 31,972 12,604 107 383
2023 Understanding Basic Rehabilitation Techniques 22 170,692 11,331 111 571

*LMICs = Low and Middle Income Countries

Understanding Basic Rehabilitation Techniques - September 2023[edit | edit source]

This course was a collaboration between Physiopedia and ReLAB-HS. It aim was to provide a comprehensive understanding of basic rehabilitation techniques.

Understanding the Rehabilitation Needs of Displaced Persons - September 2022[edit | edit source]

This course was a collaboration between Physiopedia and ReLAB-HS. It aim was to provide a comprehensive understanding of the rehabilitation needs of displaced persons.

Understanding Rehabilitation as a Health Strategy - September 2021[edit | edit source]

This course was a collaboration between Physiopedia and ReLAB-HS. It aim was to provide a comprehensive understanding of what rehabilitation is and how important it is as a health strategy.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Disease Programme - March 2020[edit | edit source]

This course was created by the Physiopedia team in response the Coronavirus Pandemic declared by the World Health Organisation on 11th March 2020, with generous support from World Physiotherapy

Introduction to Traumatic Brain Injury course - October 2019[edit | edit source]

This course was requested and funded by a private donation. Humanity & Inclusion will be providing a french translation at a later date.

Wheelchair Service Provision - October 2018[edit | edit source]

This course was run in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Humanity & Inclusion who provided the french translation, and the World Health Organisation who provided the wheelchair service training packages. It aimed to provide a basic theoretical understanding of wheelchair service provision.

Managing Children with Clubfoot - November 2017[edit | edit source]

This course was run in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Global Clubfoot Initiative (GCI). It aimed to provide a basic theoretical understanding of clubfoot and to align global understanding of the theoretical principles underlying the management of children with clubfoot.

Managing Children with Cerebral Palsy - September 2016[edit | edit source]

This course was run in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). It provided a framework to develop introductory level principles of the management of children with Cerebral Palsy relevant in all contexts. The global network formed through this course will allow for shared knowledge and experiences to support good health care and better quality of life for children with Cerebral Palsy around the world.

Physiotherapy, Exercise and Physical Activity - July 2016[edit | edit source]

This course, is a collaboration with Exercise Works in the UK, was designed to help healthcare professionals understand the size of the problem of physical inactivity in populations globally, the role of physical inactivity in the causation of a number of conditions and the benefits of exercise in treatment and prevention, and to encourage those who access the course to perform and evaluate interventions to increase physical activity in their settings.

Lower Limb Amputee Rehabilitation - June 2015[edit | edit source]

This course was a workforce training initiative for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Over 7000 participants registered to participate and it was accredited by World Physiotherapy for 24 IPT-CEUs (International Physical Therapy Continuing Education Units).

Physiotherapy Management of Spinal Cord Injuries - June 2014[edit | edit source]

This course was created and delivered in collaboration with the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS).  It had around 4000 participants and was accredited by World Physiotherapy for 15 IPT-CEUs (International Physical Therapy Continuing Education Units).

Professional Ethics - June 2013[edit | edit source]

In collaboration with the University of Western Cape in South Africa, Physiopedia ran the worlds first ever physiotherapy or physical therapy MOOC. The course was a huge success and has provided us with a very workable model for running future MOOCs in Physiopedia.

Future Open Online Courses in Physiopedia[edit | edit source]

  • Autumn 2024 - TBA

Resources[edit | edit source]

Looking for more online courses? Look no further[edit | edit source]

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