The PREP IP project was situated on the intersection of the inclusion of refugee health within education and training program and digital transformation at participating organizations and a broader network of stakeholders. The project had four objectives to: 1. Develop a transnational and transdisciplinary network of partners working in the field of refugee rehabilitation and health by building on good practices 2. Provide an open online training opportunity for an interprofessional group of rehabilitation professionals 3. Develop open educational resources focusing on rehabilitation, health and well-being of persons with refugee experience 4. Document experiences and practices of development of a partnership for inclusion. Ultimately, these have contributed to improving health and well-being of refugees as well as to their inclusion, and social cohesion and community diversity.
The PREP IP project was designed to respond to the need for competent rehabilitation professionals practicing in health and social care by creating interprofessional learning opportunities to improve their capabilities to better meet the unique health needs of refugees. Refugee health is not always part of entry level health education programs. Experts in the field feel isolated and not supported. Complex needs of refugees require complex interprofessional responses. In the project period from 2021 to 2024, the number of forcefully displaced people grew from 84 million to 122 million in 2024 globally, requiring even more competent professionals and highlighting the need for learning opportunities, partnerships, as well as open educational resources (OERs) that are inclusive, available, and accessible to health professionals when and where they need them. Online learning provides an opportunity to reach more professionals while transforming the curricula to be more inclusive of refugee experiences and maximizing the use of digital technologies. The project responded to the need to build a transnational and transdisciplinary partnership and its capacity to provide flexible learning opportunities in refugee health.