DIGNISPACE
The context in which care professionals are being asked to deliver care is changing. There has been a shift from a paternalist to a collaborative, or co-produced model, in which professionals, patients and families form more reciprocal relationships. It is nurses who are often at the centre of these relationships, charged with ensuring a dignified experience for all involved in the delivery of care.
DigniSpace is a MOOC for Dignity Education focusing on the concept of dignity through a human rights lens for the first time and co-produced with nursing students from two Scottish universities. It is a significant output from a decade long interdisciplinary research led by Dr Leah Macaden along with Dr Elaine Webster (Human Rights Law, University of Strathclyde). The project was funded by Sir Halley Stewart Trust.
DigniSpace is underpinned by the PANEL (Participation, Accountability, Non-discrimination & Equality, Empowerment and Legality) principles of human rights as the overarching framework to help healthcare professionals to confidently promote and advocate dignity in practice.
It also breaks new ground by adopting a combined focus on a student-centered, co-produced, technology-enabled engagement space, supported by creative intellectual thinking about the protection of human dignity.
An official launch event was held on 29th May at the Royal Society of Edinburgh with invited guests from across the health, education, social care and Third sectors. Attendees were given the opportunity to participate in the course working through the MOOC in groups.
Coursera The MOOC can be accessed from Human Rights-based Approach to Dignity in Care (DIGNISPACE)
The course focusses on dignity in care and looks at the human rights-based approach to dignity in care. One of the exciting things about working on this MOOC was being able to work collaboratively with colleagues on a really interesting and unique course. I was glad to hear a lot of complimentary comments on the course and how they feel it would be useful for others in their sector.
Marcello Crolla | Instructional Designer
I have worked on marketing several MOOCs during my time at the University of Edinburgh, but I was extremely impressed by the Dignispace team who were the first to have an official launch event for their MOOC. I had the opportunity to sit down at a table with a diverse group of professionals from different sectors – academia, healthcare, and charity. Following the group activities led by Dr Macaden, we had insightful discussions about what respecting someone’s dignity in the context of healthcare means to us. We also had a look at the course content itself, particularly the pyramid of empowerment which was a very interesting concept to us as it highlighted on how patients should be supported to understand their rights.
Ari Badlishah (she/her) | Digital Engagement Officer,Online Learning Marketing Team, The University of Edinburgh
Developing this MOOC as research informed educational resource with interdisciplinary collaboration on a core concept that is globally relevant for any people facing profession more generally and health and social care practice in particular has been a truly remarkable journey for me over the past decade. I have had the enormous privilege of sharing this MOOC that has been embraced with great enthusiasm by students and colleagues during my recent travel to four universities in South Korea and India as a Churchill Fellow. We currently have 841 learners enrolled on this course from all over the world and I believe this is the future direction that is also strategically aligned with the university’s Curriculum Transformation agenda; UNSDG4: sharing our expertise to ensure inclusive and equitable education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all and our mission at Nursing Studies in Edinburgh to contribute to the development of both our local and global nursing workforce.
Leah Macaden | Senior Lecturer, Nursing Studies
DigniSpace is a valuable resource that facilitates both flexible and reflective learning. As a tutor on this course, I have the opportunity to expand and enrich my understanding of dignity in care and reflect on my own practice. The learners and I engage in meaningful discussions through discussion forums, sharing our experiences, insights, and reflections. Although we come from diverse disciplines, countries, and socio-cultural backgrounds, this diversity itself enhances our learning and understanding of dignity in care. –
Yajing Wang | Final Year PhD Student, Nursing Studies
The input from the Educational Design Team has been wonderful, supporting us to create this MOOC platform as a major output from our research. We hope that many people, in the UK and far beyond, will gain valuable insights and, perhaps most importantly, use the course to help create space for themselves to reflect on best practice through the lens of dignity and human rights. The starting point for our research, more than 10 years ago, was that health and social care practitioners had to be supported to have a competent understanding of what dignity and human rights meant for their contexts, and confidence to challenge malpractice. This was and still is only one piece of the puzzle but we knew it was important and it was something that we in higher education sector could support.
Elaine Webster | Reader, Strathclyde Law School
Share
