Health and Sexual Rights: Design, Development, and Assessment of the Massive Open Online Course on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex Health Promotion in Brazil

Background: Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are a teaching format with universal access and the potential and viability to be implemented by health professionals. Despite their proven success in providing high-quality continuing education, usage and offerings of this technology are still scarce in Brazil. Materials and Methods: This article describes the development of an online-based education strategy (MOOC) on the topic of health policies aimed at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTI+) population and analyzes its performance and reach after 6 months. Results: This introductory MOOC course on LGBTI+ health included an assortment of multimedia material and consisted of 30 h of autonomous learning activities divided into two modules, with problem-based evaluation strategies. During its 6-month promotion period, the course had a total of 3,000 people enrolled with a completion rate of ∼20%. Conclusions: Results point to a high interest in LGBTI+ health and high demand for training on this topic among health professionals. This was the first course of its kind administered in Brazil. The MOOC format was successful and reliable in enabling the teaching-learning process.