scholarly journals Family medicine in South Africa: exploring future scenarios

2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 36
Author(s):  
Robert Mash ◽  
Klaus Von Pressentin

This paper reports on a workshop held at the 19th National Family Practitioners Conference in August 2016. The aim of the workshop was to describe possible future scenarios for the discipline of family medicine in South Africa and identify possible options for action. The workshop led a group of 40 family physicians from academic, public and private sector settings through a scenario planning process developed by Clem Sunter and Chantell Ilbury. After an overview of the current situation the participants reached a consensus on the rules of the game, key uncertainties, future scenarios and options for action. The main message was that the South African Academy of Family Physicians as a professional body needs to take a stronger role in advocating for the contribution of family medicine to government, health managers and the public. (Full text of the research articles are available online at www.medpharm.tandfonline.com/ojfp) S Afr Fam Pract 2017; DOI: 10.1080/20786190.2016.1272231

Author(s):  
Muna M. Mahfud ◽  
Fathia M. Nour ◽  
Hodan J. Abdi ◽  
Sabah M. Muse ◽  
Tim Fader

Four family physicians, who received their specialty training at Amoud University in Somaliland, organised a practice together that uses informal public–private partnerships to optimise their clinical care and teaching. Their experience offers insights into public–private partnerships that could strengthen the country’s healthcare system.


Author(s):  
Mbuso Mabuza ◽  
Constance Shumba

South Africa is faced with a huge challenge of addressing the high burden of tuberculosis-human immune virus (TBHIV) co-infection, and this challenge is more pronounced in the province of KwaZulu-Natal which has one of the highest burdens of TB-HIV co-infection in the world. The study explored the experiences of doctors and nurses with regard to the management of tuberculosis and HIV coinfection in a TB-HIV high burden community in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The particular focus was to provide insight and to inform policy and programme development for effective management of TB-HIV co-infection in the TB-HIV high burden community of northern KwaZulu- Natal. An interpretivist exploratory qualitative approach was employed through individual semi-structured interviews of 16 participants comprising eight doctors and eight nurses, with a total interview time of 8.95 hours. Purposive sampling was used to select the doctors and nurses from the public and private sector of the TB-HIV high burden community of northern KwaZulu- Natal. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Five key themes emerged from this study and these themes were discussed together with the sub-themes based on the various participant responses. The five key themes were practical experience about the management of TB-HIV co-infection; access to information and training on the management of TB-HIV co-infection; challenges and concerns about the management of TB-HIV co-infection; perception about local beliefs; and knowledge of policies and guidelines. Overall, this study highlights barriers that hamper the effective management of TB-HIV co-infection in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Recommendations of this study point towards an urgent need to scale up the management of TB-HIV co-infection through effective policies, improved capacity and infrastructure, stronger partnerships of all stakeholders, and further research.


Author(s):  
Andreas Wörgötter ◽  
Sihle Nomdebevana

AbstractThis paper investigates the public-private remuneration patterns in South Africa with time-series methods for the first time since the introduction of an inflation-targeting framework in 2000. Co-integration tests and analysis confirm that there is a stable, long-run relationship between nominal and real remuneration in the public and private sector. The adjustment to the deviations from this long-run relationship is strong and significant for public-sector remuneration, while private-sector wages neither respond to deviations from the long-run relationship nor lagged changes in public-sector remuneration. The causal direction from private- to public-sector remuneration does not change if real earnings are calculated with the gross domestic product deflator. This is confirmed by simple Granger-causality tests.


Author(s):  
David A. Zavattero ◽  
F. Gerald Rawling ◽  
Daniel F. Rice

The Chicago Area Transportation Study (CATS), as a metropolitan planning organization, developed an approach to integrate intermodal freight transportation into regional plans and programs. This process began with the establishment of the Intermodal Advisory Task Force (IATF) in 1994 and led to a series of freight-oriented activities and products, including the identification of regionally significant facilities, analysis of improvement needs, and the intermodal component of the 2020 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) for northeastern Illinois. Task Force membership includes public- and private-sector representatives working cooperatively to develop and direct a work plan to address goods movement and inter-modal freight issues and needs. The intermodal planning process involved significant preparatory work. The IATF established four working groups that directed specific tasks, including development of a geographic information system–based intermodal facilities inventory, an outreach for industry needs, a review of proposed intermodal improvements, identification and analysis of intermodal connections to the national highway system, and analysis to estimate the economic value of the industry to the region. Ultimately, six policy statements were developed and incorporated as system-level intermodal recommendations in the RTP. The process developed by CATS through the IATF has “mainstreamed” intermodal freight issues, analysis, and policies into the transportation plans and programs of northeastern Illinois. Although the scale of the intermodal and freight industry in Chicago is enormous, the lessons learned and the technical and institutional approaches developed through the IATF offer valuable insight and direction to other regions seeking to support their intermodal freight industry through the transportation planning process.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorainne Tudor Car ◽  
Yee Sean Teng ◽  
Jin Wei How ◽  
Nadia Nasuha Binte Mohammad Nazri ◽  
Amy Li Xian Tan ◽  
...  

Abstract Background A shortage of primary care physicians has been reported in many countries. Primary care systems are diverse and the challenges leading to a decline in workforce are at times context-specific and require tailored solutions. Inviting frontline clinicians to share their insights can help identify optimal strategies for a particular setting. To determine priorities for family physicians’ and general practitioners’ recruitment and retention in Singapore, we invited primary care physicians to rank pertinent strategies using PRIORITIZE, a transparent, systematic priority-setting approach. Methods The study advisory board, consisting of representatives of Singapore’s key primary care stakeholders, determined the criteria for prioritising of general practitioners (GPs) and family physicians (FPs) recruitment and retention strategies in Singapore. A comprehensive list of GPs and FPs recruitment and retention strategies was extracted from a recent systematic review of the relevant literature. A questionnaire listing the strategies and the scoring criteria was administered online to doctors practicing in public and private sector in Singapore. Respondents’ scores were combined to create a ranked list of locally most relevant strategies for improving GPs and FPs recruitment and retention. Results We recruited a diverse sample of 50 GPs and FPs practicing in a variety of primary care settings, many with a range of additional professional responsibilities. Around 60 and 66% of respondents thought that there was a problem with recruitment and retention of GPs and FPs in Singapore, respectively. Strategies focusing on promoting primary care by emphasizing the advantages and enhancing the status of the profession as well as training-related strategies, such as sub-specialisation and high-quality rotations were considered priorities for improving recruitment. For retention of GPs and FPs, improving working conditions by increasing GPs’ and FPs’ salary and recognition, as well as varying or reducing time commitment, were seen as the most important strategies. The ranking between physicians working in public and private sector was mostly similar, with nine out of the top ten recruitment and retention strategies being the same. Conclusion Primary care physicians’ ranking of recruitment and retention strategies for GPs and FPs in Singapore provide important insight into the challenges and the solutions as seen by the members of the profession themselves. This information can guide future policy and decision making in this area.


2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mergan Naidoo ◽  
Klaus B. Von Pressentin ◽  
Honey Mabuza ◽  
Tasleem Ras

The series, ‘Mastering your Fellowship’, provides examples of the question format encountered in the written and clinical examinations, Part A of the Fellowship of the College of Family Physicians, South Africa (FCFP [SA]) examination. The series is aimed at helping family medicine registrars prepare for this examination. Model answers are available online.


2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mergan Naidoo ◽  
Klaus B. Von Pressentin ◽  
Andrew Ross ◽  
Tasleem Ras

The series, ‘Mastering your Fellowship’, provides examples of the question format encountered in the written and clinical examinations, Part A of the Fellowship of the College of Family Physicians of South Africa (FCFP [SA]) examination. The series is aimed at helping family medicine registrars prepare for this examination. Model answers are available online.


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