A human rights-based approach to dignity education in health & social care practice – development and evaluation of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)

Preserving human dignity is a core principle in both health and social care practice. However, the concept of dignity in care using a human rights-based approach has received limited emphasis on healthcare education. To address this gap, a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), Dignispace, was co-designed with nursing students from two Scottish universities and interdisciplinary expertise, including human rights law. The MOOC is grounded in a human rights-based approach structured around a set of principles known as PANEL—Participation, Accountability, Non-discrimination and Equality, Empowerment, and Legality—which provide the overarching framework for promoting dignity in care. This study evaluated learners’ experiences and learning outcomes through analysis of survey responses and comments from MOOC discussion forums. Both quantitative and qualitative data indicated high levels of satisfaction with the course. Dignispace was also found to enhance participants’ knowledge and foster intentions for behavioural change. These findings support the course’s value and effectiveness in advancing dignity-focused education in healthcare. Future research and implementation efforts should prioritise adapting the course to diverse cultural and legal contexts and strengthening policy and institutional support to translate learning into sustained practice change.