Health and Lifestyle from OpenLearn - free learning resources from the Open University

bbc.co.uk's Arthritis Guide - suggestions for a complimentary approach to help with the pain of arthritis. There's more to it than copper bracelets.

There are numerous books available on complementary and alternative medicine - trying to gather all the titles available on a trip to your local bookstore could leave you in need of some serious back massage!

Amongst the titles you might want to consider as starting points:

The Rise and Fall of Modern Medicine
James Le Fanu (Little,Brown)

Anatomy and Physiology for Holistic Therapists
Francesa Gould (Nelson Thornes)

Holistic Therapies: An Introductory Guide
Helen McGuinness (Hodder Arnold)

Understanding Complementary Medicine
George Lewith (Family Doctor Publications)

Understanding the Placebo Effect in Complementary Medicine
David Peters (Churchill Livingstone)

For a more sceptical approach to complementary therapies it's worth keeping an eye on Ben Goldacre's Bad Science column in The Guardian, he often casts a careful eye over some of the more outlandish claims of practitioners.

If you would like to follow up your interest by taking a course, the OU offers a range of courses and qualifications designed to fit you.

Which type of course is best for you?

• New to undergraduate study?
• Not sure you want to commit to a long course?
• Have study experience and looking for more?

Openings

If you haven’t experienced higher education before, deciding to become an undergraduate student can be a big step. But don’t worry, the OU’s designed a programme that allows you to dip your toe in the water before committing yourself!

Understanding Health (Y158)
This course focuses on the health of individuals, families, localities and societies. It looks at how much people influence their own health, and how much it is influenced by our families, the places we live and wider society. It looks at what we can do as individuals to maintain our health, as well as looking at how the medical profession and politicians intervene to try to keep us healthy.

Details of all the Openings courses can be found on their Openings courses page.

Short Courses

If you want to study science but don’t want to commit to a full undergraduate course one of the OU’s science short courses could be perfect for you.

Understanding Human Nutrition (SK183)
Are we really what we eat? What is the link between food and our health and well-being? This course will provide you with information about the components of the human diet, and how food is processed in the body. It enables you to apply this information to understand the links between nutrition and health for people of all ages and a range of lifestyles.

Chance Risk and Health (SMK184)
This course will introduce you to some of the main ideas of modern statistics, from scratch, in the context of important health issues. It will show you how statistics can shed considerable light on such topics as the controversy surrounding the MMR vaccine and the link between smoking and cancer. The course is not a ‘how-to/cookbook’ introduction to basic statistics. Rather, its role is to help you appreciate the importance of statistical analysis and thinking, particularly in modern medicine. Its emphasis is on understanding the kinds of statistical tools that are available; what issues they can address; and how to interpret statistical results.

Diabetes Care (SK120)
This course provides an introductory overview of diabetes care, with the person with diabetes as the centre of focus. You will study medical, social, psychological and educational aspects of the condition of diabetes, and learn about its diagnosis, complications, treatment, lifestyle changes and the role of individuals within the diabetes ‘team’. It will appeal to students from a variety of backgrounds, including people with diabetes, health care workers and anyone interested in learning more about the condition.

Details of all the OU's science short courses can be found on their short courses page.

Longer Courses and Qualifications

Open University courses are the main 'building blocks' of our qualifications. You can take a single course or take several to build towards an Open University diploma or degree.

Which level of study is most suitable for you?

• Is studying Health or Science new for you?
• Already have work or study experience in Health Science or Psychology?

Where to Start

Discovering Science (S103)
If you are totally new to the subject area, or would like a refresher, this might be a good starting point. Important concepts, and scientific, mathematical and communication skills are developed using a range of topics from global warming to the origin of life.

Get a taste of S103

Understanding Health and Social Care (K100)

Offering a broad practical introduction to health and social care, this course examines the nature of modern caring and the effects of changes to the health service.

If you’re interested, why don’t you take a look at the Open University’s Interactive K100 course guide.

Higher level study

Exploring Psychology (DSE212)
How humans think, develop, and experience the world around us has been fascinating psychologists for over 100 years. Using a historical and biographical framework, this course introduces you to a wide range of psychological approaches, including biological, social, and cognitive psychologies. It looks at areas such as identity, memory, consciousness, and learning. But you won’t just learn about psychological theories, you’ll learn how to do different types of psychological research too. You’ll undertake a practical experimental project using quantitative and qualitative research methods and learn to analyse the results using SPSS software. All in all, Exploring Psychology will give you a thorough overview of psychology, relevant to your daily life.

Perspectives on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (K221)
This course provides an accessible but rigorous introduction to complementary and alternative approaches to health. It aims to stimulate lively debates about this controversial and topical subject and to equip you with information and analytical frameworks with which to enter the debates. You will explore key aspects, and contextualise CAM in terms of a political, historical and ethical framework. You’ll then move on to analyse critical issues including ‘What do people want?’, ‘Integration within mainstream services’ and ‘What evidence is there that CAMs are effective?’

Human Biology (SK277)
This course presents human biology in a way that connects it directly with health and disease. It starts with the concept of a healthy body and explores the mechanisms that enable it to maintain its integrity.