The Medical Peace Work textbook is an e-book, here available online and on our CD-ROM in an offline version. It is an integral part of the Medical Peace Work online course. When you click on a link below the respective part of the online course will open in a new window. You can go through the text, download or print it without registering to the course.

Suggested citation of textbook lessons:

[author] (2008). [lesson title]. In Rowson M and Melf K (eds). The Medical Peace Work textbook. Tromsø, Centre for International Health. Available at www.medicalpeacework.org, accessed [date].

Contents of the textbook

Module 1: Peace, conflict and health professionals

Chapter 1.1: Introduction to peace and conflict
Lesson 1.1.1: What is peace? Foundational terminology and concepts
Lesson 1.1.2: Conflict theory
Lesson 1.1.3: Types of violence
Lesson 1.1.4: Conflict analysis

Chapter 1.2: Medical Peace Work - a response to violent conflict
Lesson 1.2.1: Why health professionals are involved in peace work
Lesson 1.2.2: Public health approaches to violence and war
Lesson 1.2.3: The health sector’s contribution to peace
Lesson 1.2.4: Nonviolent Communication

Module 2: Medicine, health and human rights

Chapter 2.1: Legal context
Lesson 2.1.1: Health and human rights – norms and standards
Lesson 2.1.2: Defending health and human rights - the role of health professionals and their associations
Lesson 2.1.3: Medical neutrality and international humanitarian law
Lesson 2.1.4: Ethical codes of the health professions

Chapter 2.2: Health professionals at risk of violating human rights
Lesson 2.2.1: Risk factors and ethical dilemmas
Lesson 2.2.2: Practical tips for dealing with human rights dilemmas

Chapter 2.3: Health professionals and the promotion of human rights
Lesson 2.3.1: Using the right to health
Lesson 2.3.2: A rights-based approach to health policy

Module 3: War, weapons and strategies of violent conflicts

Chapter 3.1: Weapons of mass destruction
Lesson 3.1.1: Nuclear weapons
Lesson 3.1.2: Biological weapons
Lesson 3.1.3: Chemical weapons
Lesson 3.1.4: Radiological weapons

Chapter 3.2: Health effects of other weapons and strategies of war
Lesson 3.2.1: Landmines – their impact on civilians
Lesson 3.2.2: ‘Non-lethal’ weapons
Lesson 3.2.3: Rape as a military strategy
Lesson 3.2.4: The public health effects of war
Lesson 3.2.5: Small arms and light weapons

Chapter 3.3: Health professional responses to war and weapons
Lesson 3.3.1: Educating the public
Lesson 3.3.2: Health professional movements for peace – a history
Lesson 3.3.3: Data-to-policy work
Lesson 3.3.4: Health professionals working in coalition with larger movements

Module 4: Structural violence and the underlying causes of violent conflict

Chapter 4.1: Development – an overview
Lesson 4.1.1: Violence and development
Lesson 4.1.2: What does poverty mean? How many people are poor?
Lesson 4.1.3: What does inequality mean? How unequal is the world?
Lesson 4.1.4: What is health? How healthy is the world?

Chapter 4.2: Underlying causes of structural and direct violence
Lesson 4.2.1: Origins of structural violence – local forces
Lesson 4.2.2: Origins of structural violence – global forces
Lesson 4.2.3: Underlying causes of civil war – ethnicity
Lesson 4.2.4: Underlying causes of civil war – poverty, inequality and economic development
Lesson 4.2.5: Underlying causes of civil war – political factors
Lesson 4.2.6: Underlying causes of civil war – the international dimension

Chapter 4.3: Case studies
Lesson 4.3.1: Does the environment cause civil war? The case of Darfur
Lesson 4.3.2: Underlying causes of violent conflict in the Niger Delta
Lesson 4.3.3: Rwanda – what caused the genocide?
Lesson 4.3.4: Partitioning Iraq?

Chapter 4.4: Responses to structural violence and the underlying causes of direct violence
Lesson 4.4.1: Reducing structural violence – national level interventions
Lesson 4.4.2: Reducing structural violence – international level interventions
Lesson 4.4.3: The importance of health systems

Module 5: Peace-health interventions in armed conflicts

Chapter 5.1: Medical assistance in war
Lesson 5.1.1: The changing attitude towards sickness and health during wartime
Lesson 5.1.2: Is war good for medicine?
Lesson 5.1.3: The practice of military medicine during the twentieth century
Lesson 5.1.4: Humanitarian medical aid
Lesson 5.1.5: The military as humanitarian agencies
Lesson 5.1.6: Medical neutrality and complicity in times of human rights violations and war

Chapter 5.2: During violent conflict
Lesson 5.2.1: Building bridges
Lesson 5.2.2: Do no harm – aid impact assessment
Lesson 5.2.3: Humanitarian agencies – roles and responsibilities in protecting civilians during armed conflict
Lesson 5.2.4: Conflict resolution and mediation for health professionals

Chapter 5.3: After violent conflict
Lesson 5.3.1: Trauma healing – reconciliation
Lesson 5.3.2: Community interventions – the rise of psychosocial trauma programmes
Lesson 5.3.3: Justice, truth and reconciliation – state action

Module 6: Refugee and migration challenges

Chapter 6.1: Asylum and migration
Lesson 6.1.1: Definitions
Lesson 6.1.2: The migrant's journey
Lesson 6.1.3: Types of forced migrant

Chapter 6.2: The journey begins
Lesson 6.2.1: Health in refugee/IDP camps
Lesson 6.2.2: Violence in refugee camps
Lesson 6.2.3: Gender-based violence in refugee camps

Chapter 6.3: Adapting to a new landscape
Lesson 6.3.1: Reception in Europe – expectation and reality
Lesson 6.3.2: Holistic care and cultural competence
Lesson 6.3.3: Examples of good practice in Europe

Chapter 6.4: Ethics and self-care
Lesson 6.4.1: Duty of care / confidentiality / dual loyalty
Lesson 6.4.2: Caring for the carer
Lesson 6.4.3: Health workers as advocates

Module 7: Prevention of inter-personal and self-directed violence

Chapter 7.1: Prevention of interpersonal violence
Lesson 7.1.1: Definition and nature of interpersonal violence
Lesson 7.1.2: Interpersonal violence as a health problem
Lesson 7.1.3: Risk groups and the public health approach
Lesson 7.1.4: Primary prevention of interpersonal violence

Chapter 7.2: Prevention of self-directed violence
Lesson 7.2.1: Epidemiology of self-directed violence
Lesson 7.2.2: Vulnerability to suicidal behaviour
Lesson 7.2.3: Evidence-based interventions in the suicidal process
Lesson 7.2.4: Effective prevention programmes