ABSTRACT
Background. Rural areas in all countries suffer from a shortage of health care professionals. In South Africa; the shortage is particularly marked; some rural areas have a doctor-topopulation ratio of 5.5:100 000. Similar patterns apply to other health professionals. Increasing the proportion of rural-origin students in faculties of health sciences has been shown to be one way of addressing such shortages; as the students are more likely to work in rural areas after graduating. Objective. To determine the proportion of rural- origin students at all medical schools in South Africa. Design. A retrospective descriptive study was conducted in 2003. Lists of undergraduate students admitted from 1999 to 2002 for medicine; dentistry; physiotherapy and occupational therapy were obtained from 9 health science faculties. Origins of students were classified as city; town and rural by means of postal codes. The proportion of rural-origin students was determined and compared with the percentage of rural people in South Africa (46.3). Results. Of the 7 358 students; 4 341 (59) were from cities; 1 107 (15) from towns and 1 910 (26) from rural areas. The proportion of rural-origin students in the different courses nationally were: medicine - 27.4; physiotherapy - 22.4; occupational therapy - 26.7; and dentistry - 24.8. Conclusion. The proportion of rural-origin students in South Africa was considerably lower than the national rural population ratio. Strategies are needed to increase the number of rural-origin students in universities via preferential admission to alleviate the shortage of health professionals in rural areas
Subject(s)
Medically Underserved Area , Rural Health Services , Students/educationABSTRACT
Background: The primary healthcare system was adopted as the vehicle of healthcare delivery and a means of reaching the larger part of the population in South Africa in 1994. One of the strategies employed in providing a comprehensive service is the incorporation of visits to clinics by doctors in support of other members of the primary healthcare team; particularly nurses. A successful collaboration at this level brings benefit to everyone involved; particularly patients. Clear expectations and a confusion of roles leads to lack of teamwork; thus it is important to have clearly established models for such involvement. Doctors working in district hospitals mostly visit clinics; but their workload; staff shortages and transport often interfere with these visits. As a form of private-public partnership; local GPs are sometimes contracted to visit the clinics. Very little is known about this practice and problems are reported; including the perception that GPs do not spend as much time in the clinics as they are paid for10.Understanding the practice better may provide answers on how to improve the quality of primary care in the district health system. The aim of this study was to describe the experiences of local GPs visiting public clinics regularly over a long period of time. Methods A case study was undertaken in the Odi district of the North West Province in three primary care clinics visited by GPs. The experiences of the doctors; clinic nurses; district managers and patients regarding the GP's visits were elicited through in-depth interviews. Details of the visits with regard to patient numbers; lengths of the visits; remuneration and preferences were also sought. The data were analysed using different methods to highlight important themes. Results: The visits by the GPs to the clinics were viewed as beneficial by the patients and clinic staff. The GPs were often preferred to government doctors because of their skills; patience and availability. The visits were also seen as a gesture of patriotism by the GPs. There were constraints; such as a shortage of medicines and equipment; which reduce the success of these visits. Conclusion: The involvement of GPs in primary care clinics is beneficial and desirable. It enhances equity in terms of access to services. Addressing the constraints can optimise the public-private partnership at this level
Subject(s)
Delivery of Health Care , Primary Health CareABSTRACT
Background: The primary healthcare system was adopted as the vehicle of healthcare delivery and a means of reaching the larger part of the population in South Africa in 1994. One of the strategies employed in providing a comprehensive service is the incorporation of visits to clinics by doctors in support of other members of the primary healthcare team; particularly nurses. A successful collaboration at this level brings benefit to everyone involved; particularly patients. Clear expectations and a confusion of roles leads to lack of teamwork; thus it is important to have clearly established models for such involvement. Doctors working in district hospitals mostly visit clinics; but their workload; staff shortages and transport often interfere with these visits. As a form of private-public partnership; local GPs are sometimes contracted to visit the clinics. Very little is known about this practice and problems are reported; including the perception that GPs do not spend as much time in the clinics as they are paid for10.Understanding the practice better may provide answers on how to improve the quality of primary care in the district health system. The aim of this study was to describe the experiences of local GPs visiting public clinics regularly over a long period of time.Methods: A case study was undertaken in the Odi district of the North West Province in three primary care clinics visited by GPs. The experiences of the doctors; clinic nurses; district managers and patients regarding the GP's visits were elicited through in-depth interviews. Details of the visits with regard to patient numbers; lengths of the visits; remuneration and preferences were also sought. The data were analysed using different methods to highlight important themes.Results: The visits by the GPs to the clinics were viewed as beneficial by the patients and clinic staff. The GPs were often preferred to government doctors because of their skills; patience and availability. The visits were also seen as a gesture of patriotism by the GPs. There were constraints; such as a shortage of medicines and equipment; which reduce the success of these visits.Conclusion: The involvement of GPs in primary care clinics is beneficial and desirable. It enhances equity in terms of access to services. Addressing the constraints can optimise the public-private partnership at this level