Investigating Ways in Which Open Educational Resources and Open Source Software can improve Productivity & Quality in the Health & Social Care Sector in the Island of Mauritius: A Concept Paper

Abstract

The use of Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Source Software (OSS) is a recent phenomenon in the Island of Mauritius. Given that education is the key for economic development, it is important to make education accessible to all stakeholders and even more so, it is vital to promote access to education, encourage active participation in education, encourage collaborative educational efforts and promote the use of freely available educational resources and new educational technologies for progress. The concept discussed here is how productivity and quality can drive the use of OER and OSS and how both productivity and quality can be enhanced and better promoted by the use of Open Source resources in different sectors of the Mauritian economy. The focus of this paper is on exploring educational initiatives and OSS applications in the health and social care sector. Useful areas where OER could be applied include undergraduate and postgraduate medical courses as well as continuous professional development for health and social care professionals and OSS could also prove a useful resource in the implementation of E-Health in Mauritius. In conclusion, these free resources have a potential to enhancing productivity in the health & social care sector.