Virtual Learning Environments have become innovative tools in health professionals education. Through Massive Open Online Courses, they enable different ways of connecting with knowledge, facilitating study autonomy, interaction, and closer alignment with professional practices and the context of course participants. MOOCs comprise an educational strategy for many fields, including health. As they educate health professionals about a variety of practices, MOOCs play a crucial role in interculturality by enabling professionals to approach cultural diversity in work settings. This study provides a review of the literature investigating the element of interculturality in the production of healthcare-related MOOCs intended for a variety of audiences, including practicing healthcare professionals, healthcare professional trainees, and the general public. Based on a systematic review protocol, we searched for peer-reviewed studies published between 2016 and 2023 in Science Direct, PubMed, ERIC, and Scopus. Fifteen studies were selected for final analysis, which highlighted MOOC development, its underlying processes, and its importance in promoting health and social well-being. MOOCs have (1) provided new approaches to technology-mediated learning in distance health education, (2) aided training, (3) disseminated knowledge, and (4) promoted interculturality. Continuous collaboration and innovation in MOOC development are essential to ensure their effectiveness and relevance in the contemporary educational scenario.

In this article, we aim to propose indicators to evaluate the performance of international scientific cooperation in public health, based on the operation experience in Brazil’s “Syphilis No!” Project. This is an action research project, based upon Kaplan and Norton’s Balanced Scorecard Method, developed in five stages: (i) Reorganization of the indicators, (ii) validation of the new indicators, (iii) construction of the dimensions of the indicators, (iv) data collection for the indicators, (v) development of the framework for the “Syphilis No!” Project. The metrics and 34 indicators are presented and grouped into four dimensions: technical-scientific, investment, products, and impact. The cooperation that emerged from the project has built an international research network that has the potential to transcend syphilis research. The framework demonstrated that international scientific cooperations, focused on research and product development, have contributed to the promotion of public health policies and have enabled the exchange of knowledge, techniques, experiences, and technologies, fundamental to the international scientific cooperation of Brazilian universities. This contribution will have implications for studies in the field of international relations in health and education.

Ethnonutrition is the study of diets in the context of food systems of different peoples and cultures. Its scope comprises native or local categories used to classify food, and also includes biodiverse food availability, local culinary techniques, seasonality, and cultural perceptions related to diet with nutritional implications. Here, we describe a method useful for gathering ethnonutrition data to design dietary interventions or assessments, the Rapid Ethnonutrition Assessment (REA). REA is a tool that offers food and nutrition research a broad biocultural view of diets, considering food system-level, by prototyping dietary assessments with high efficiency. This method permits us to prevent misinterpretations that lead to wrong conclusions in nutritional research.

Interculturality is increasingly gaining conceptual and operational relevance, especially in public health, since the cultural diversity of population groups generates myriad needs and demands for health services.In this scenario, technology-mediated Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have become innovative strategies for health training from an intercultural perspective (1,2). In Brazil, this is exemplified by the reinforcement of comprehensive Indigenous health care initiatives under primary health care. Prison health is also part of this spectrum of measures, as seen in the National Policy for Comprehensive Healthcare for People Deprived of Liberty. Hence, the prison population is a significant example of cultural and social diversity (3,4,5,6,7).Consideration of interculturality in the articulation of these initiatives has proven essential for health protection, promotion, and recovery across each community. It favors approaches attuned to traditional knowledge systems and practices specific to culturally diverse groups. Utilizing MOOCs in health, aligned with intercultural principles, enables professionals to be better equipped to work in culturally diverse contexts (8). MOOCs with an intercultural focus have emerged as strategic tools to broaden access to health training and facilitate intercultural practices in health professionals' practice (9,10).Interculturality is defined as a "process of interaction and exchange between different cultures aimed at mutual understanding, valuing diversity, and building peaceful and harmonious coexistence" (11). For Wang et al. (2022) (12), embracing interculturality in health care requires an understanding of the cultural norms, beliefs, and values adopted by groups in their ancestral health practices. This is essential for delivering universal and equitable health services and practices that respect people's cultural realities, traditions, and cosmovisions. Cunha et al. (2024) (11) found that by incorporating intercultural principles, health-related MOOCs help train professionals who are more culturally aware and sensitive to sociocultural diversity.In this context, the continuing education of health professionals serves as a means to understand the nexus between interculturality and health. Canty (2023) (13) highlights interculturality as a central concept to be addressed in MOOCs, which are widely used in the training of health professionals. The author emphasizes that MOOCs go beyond delivering technical knowledge to health professionals; by incorporating interculturality, they facilitate cultural exchange and foster more humanized, comprehensive, and inclusive health care practices.Health training, although traditionally centered on the technical and scientific updating of professionals, has been redefined in the Brazilian context as a key component of continuing health education (CHE). This shift recognizes that professional development must be intrinsically linked to social needs and to the demands faced by the Brazilian National Health System (SUS) (14,15). Technology-mediated CHE, particularly through Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) and the adoption of MOOCs, has been consolidated as a fundamental strategy for the ongoing qualification of health professionals operating nationwide within the SUS (16). This approach promotes and strengthens the connection between health professionals and the population at both individual and collective levels, facilitating communication and supporting the development and adherence to health-promoting programs and practices (12,7,17). Therefore, CHE mediated by technology-such as the delivery of MOOCs and Open Educational Resources (OERs) in virtual learning environments-enhances the quality of healthcare services by overcoming geographical, cultural, and linguistic barriers to health promotion (18,19,20).One of the main global platforms for providing health-related MOOCs and OERs is the Virtual Learning Environment of the Brazilian Health System (AVASUS). AVASUS is notable for promoting large-scale education with an emphasis on emerging topics relevant to public health (21,4). Such a platform from Brazil's Ministry of Health was developed by the Laboratory for Technological Innovation in Health (LAIS) at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) through technical and scientific cooperation (7).AVASUS is currently the third-largest MOOC platform in the world, with over 3.3 million enrollments, 1.3 million users, and more than 450 open and free courses (16), totalling over 10,000 hours of content. Given its scientific, social, and national significance, AVASUS has been the subject of research, analysis, and evaluation concerning the impact of the massive MOOC and OER delivery within Brazil's SUS.In light of the above, this study aimed to structure and provide a database to enable an in-depth analysis of the relationship between interculturality and health education within primary health care. The compiled data includes demographic and geographical information on participants in 16 MOOCs offered via AVASUS, comprising 99,080 enrollees from various regions of Brazil and abroad. By compiling this information, this study aims to provide empirical support for research investigating how cultural and territorial factors influence access to, participation in, and ownership of health education content. Thus, it contributes to understanding the multiple sociocultural contexts inherent to professional training, as well as to identifying pedagogical strategies that are more sensitive to diversity and effective in promoting inclusive, comprehensive, and humanized health practices.The proposal for this study was developed using data extracted from AVASUS, covering 16 courses in the field of primary health care. Data on 99,080 enrollments and attributes spanning from December 3, 2021, to February 27, 2025, were analyzed. Emphasis was placed on elements of interculturality identified, namely:Primary...

Background/Objectives: Health education plays a vital role in training health professionals and caregivers, supporting both prevention and the promotion of self-care. In this context, technology serves as a valuable ally by enabling continuous and flexible learning. Among the various domains of health education, nutrition stands out as a key element in the management of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), helping to prevent malnutrition and enhance patient well-being. Accordingly, this study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the teaching and learning processes within a learning pathway focused on food and nutrition in the context of ALS. Methods: This study adopted a longitudinal, quantitative design. The learning pathway, titled “Food and Nutrition in ALS,” consisted of four self-paced and self-instructional Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), offered through the Virtual Learning Environment of the Brazilian Health System (AVASUS). Participants included health professionals, caregivers, and patients from all five regions of Brazil. Participants had the autonomy to complete the courses in any order, with no prerequisites for enrollment. Results: Out of 14,263 participants enrolled nationwide, 182 were included in this study after signing the Informed Consent Form. Of these, 142 (78%) completed at least one course and participated in the educational intervention. A significant increase in knowledge was observed, with mean pre-test scores rising from 7.3 (SD = 1.8) to 9.6 (SD = 0.9) on the post-test across all courses (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The self-instructional, technology-mediated continuing education model proved effective in improving participants’ knowledge about nutrition in ALS. Future studies should explore knowledge retention, behavior change, and the impact of such interventions on clinical outcomes, especially in multidisciplinary care settings.

Introduction: The interfaces between the fields of communication, education and health have been indicated by international institutions such as the WHO and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. However, hegemonic scientific practices supersede dialogue between the three fields, isolating their practices. This fragmenting tendency is observed in scientific literature, which has created gaps in the dialogue and articulation between communication, education and health. Although health promotion requires both communicative and educational practices, the epistemological, historical, political, cultural and socioeconomic aspects have also engendered tensions between the fields. Communication is often seen as a mere instrument for other practices, rather than a phenomenon that (re)produces meanings and power dynamics. In opposing the reductionist and instrumentalising perspectives of knowledge fields, the primary objective of the scoping review is to map the scientific evidence on the interfaces between communication and education in health to indicate a conceptual framework that articulates communication and education practices within the context of health. Methods and analysis: A transdisciplinary team developed this protocol based on the 2024 Joanna Briggs Institute Manual for Evidence Synthesis. The procedures required to conduct the review were guided by the frameworks proposed by Arksey and O'Malley, Levac et al and Peters et al. The study eligibility criteria were established based on the Problem, Concept and Context outlined in the research questions. Primary and secondary studies will be retrieved from nine sources, covering both conventional and grey literature. These sources include Embase, ERIC, LILACS, PubMed/MEDLINE, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Web of Science, the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations, and the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations. A categorised form will be used for data collection and subsequent analysis. The reporting of the review findings will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews. Ethics and dissemination: The nature of the research and the use of secondary data sources do not require informed consent forms or approval from ethics committees in Brazil. The scientific findings from the review will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals, academic conferences and other scientific communication channels. Study registration: The protocol was registered on the Open Science Framework (OSF) and is available at https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/Z3CX7 .