Curricula, teaching material and training courses for health professionals in peace issues were hardly available, and teaching initiatives sporadic and incoherent.

Using a public health approach to violence prevention, the Medical Peace Work partners wanted to collect, to teach and to further develop the ways how health professionals could work towards the prevention of violence and the promotion of peace.

Medical Peace Work pilot project

With the Medical Peace Work pilot project 2005-2008 we wished to create an awareness about the peace capacity of health professionals and to strengthen their peace skills.

The main focus of our pilot project has been the teaching of medical peace work to medical students and doctors, and the collection of teaching resources for their trainers. During the project period (Oct. 2005 – May 2008) we have developed web-based teaching material and built up this web site as a resource centre for teaching Medical Peace Work.

Medical Peace Work - II

The Medical Peace Work project phase 2 was conducted from Nov. 2009 to Feb. 2012. During this project phase the MPW material was further developed to serve the training of all health professionals and their students. Additional focus of this project phase was the dissemination of Medical Peace Work and the implementation/accreditation of the MPW online courses.

Medical Peace Work - III

Medical Peace Work has gone into a third project round. It has been selected for EU-funding in the period 2014-2016. The new project aims to increase the MPW performance among health professionals through the use of case-based learning methodology.

Ten partner organizations collaborate to develop and to implement narrative case studies, audio-visual cases and a new case-based online course. In contrast to the existing seven MPW courses, the new material will be produced for group work and peer learning, both in formal and non‐formal education.

Four of the partner organizations have former experience in collaborating through the MPW partnership. Six new members are included: IPPNW-Norway, Coalition for Work With Psychotrauma and Peace, Samaritan Austria State of Styria, 4-change, The Case Centre, and Medical Mission Institute Würzburg.