Placement, support, and retention of health professionals: national, cross-sectional findings from medical and dental community service officers in South Africa

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dc.contributor.authorHatcher, Abigail M
dc.contributor.authorOnah, Michael
dc.contributor.authorKornik, Saul
dc.contributor.authorPeacocke, Julia
dc.contributor.authorReid, Stephen
dc.date.accessioned2015-06-19T13:47:51Z
dc.date.available2015-06-19T13:47:51Z
dc.date.issued2014-02-26
dc.date.updated2015-01-15T17:58:17Z
dc.description.abstractBackground: In South Africa, community service following medical training serves as a mechanism for equitable distribution of health professionals and their professional development. Community service officers are required to contribute a year towards serving in a public health facility while receiving supervision and remuneration. Although the South African community service programme has been in effect since 1998, little is known about how placement and practical support occur, or how community service may impact future retention of health professionals. Methods: National, cross-sectional data were collected from community service officers who served during 2009 using a structured self-report questionnaire. A Supervision Satisfaction Scale (SSS) was created by summing scores of five questions rated on a three-point Likert scale (orientation, clinical advising, ongoing mentorship, accessibility of clinic leadership, and handling of community service officers’ concerns). Research endpoints were guided by community service programmatic goals and analysed as dichotomous outcomes. Bivariate and multivariate logistical regressions were conducted using Stata 12. Results: The sample population comprised 685 doctors and dentists (response rate 44%). Rural placement was more likely among unmarried, male, and black practitioners. Rates of self-reported professional development were high (470 out of 539 responses; 87%). Participants with higher scores on the SSS were more likely to report professional development. Although few participants planned to continue work in rural, underserved communities (n = 171 out of 657 responses, 25%), those serving in a rural facility during the community service year had higher intentions of continuing rural work. Those reporting professional development during the community service year were twice as likely to report intentions to remain in rural, underserved communities. Conclusions: Despite challenges in equitable distribution of practitioners, participant satisfaction with the compulsory community service programme appears to be high among those who responded to a 2009 questionnaire. These data offer a starting point for designing programmes and policies that better meet the health needs of the South African population through more appropriate human resource management. An emphasis on professional development and supervision is crucial if South Africa is to build practitioner skills, equitably distribute health professionals, and retain the medical workforce in rural, underserved areas.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationHatcher, A. M., Onah, M., Kornik, S., Peacocke, J., & Reid, S. (2014). Placement, support, and retention of health professionals: national, cross-sectional findings from medical and dental community service officers in South Africa. <i>Human Resources for Health</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13094en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationHatcher, Abigail M, Michael Onah, Saul Kornik, Julia Peacocke, and Stephen Reid "Placement, support, and retention of health professionals: national, cross-sectional findings from medical and dental community service officers in South Africa." <i>Human Resources for Health</i> (2014) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13094en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationHatcher, A.M., et al. (2014). Placement, support, and retention of health professionals: national, cross-sectional findings from medical and dental community service officers in South Africa. Human Resources for Health, 12(1):14en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn1478-4491en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Hatcher, Abigail M AU - Onah, Michael AU - Kornik, Saul AU - Peacocke, Julia AU - Reid, Stephen AB - Background: In South Africa, community service following medical training serves as a mechanism for equitable distribution of health professionals and their professional development. Community service officers are required to contribute a year towards serving in a public health facility while receiving supervision and remuneration. Although the South African community service programme has been in effect since 1998, little is known about how placement and practical support occur, or how community service may impact future retention of health professionals. Methods: National, cross-sectional data were collected from community service officers who served during 2009 using a structured self-report questionnaire. A Supervision Satisfaction Scale (SSS) was created by summing scores of five questions rated on a three-point Likert scale (orientation, clinical advising, ongoing mentorship, accessibility of clinic leadership, and handling of community service officers’ concerns). Research endpoints were guided by community service programmatic goals and analysed as dichotomous outcomes. Bivariate and multivariate logistical regressions were conducted using Stata 12. Results: The sample population comprised 685 doctors and dentists (response rate 44%). Rural placement was more likely among unmarried, male, and black practitioners. Rates of self-reported professional development were high (470 out of 539 responses; 87%). Participants with higher scores on the SSS were more likely to report professional development. Although few participants planned to continue work in rural, underserved communities (n = 171 out of 657 responses, 25%), those serving in a rural facility during the community service year had higher intentions of continuing rural work. Those reporting professional development during the community service year were twice as likely to report intentions to remain in rural, underserved communities. Conclusions: Despite challenges in equitable distribution of practitioners, participant satisfaction with the compulsory community service programme appears to be high among those who responded to a 2009 questionnaire. These data offer a starting point for designing programmes and policies that better meet the health needs of the South African population through more appropriate human resource management. An emphasis on professional development and supervision is crucial if South Africa is to build practitioner skills, equitably distribute health professionals, and retain the medical workforce in rural, underserved areas. DA - 2014-02-26 DB - OpenUCT DO - 10.1186/1478-4491-12-14 DP - University of Cape Town J1 - Human Resources for Health LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2014 SM - 1478-4491 T1 - Placement, support, and retention of health professionals: national, cross-sectional findings from medical and dental community service officers in South Africa TI - Placement, support, and retention of health professionals: national, cross-sectional findings from medical and dental community service officers in South Africa UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13094 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1478-4491-12-14
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/13094
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/13094
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1478-4491-12-14
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationHatcher AM, Onah M, Kornik S, Peacocke J, Reid S. Placement, support, and retention of health professionals: national, cross-sectional findings from medical and dental community service officers in South Africa. Human Resources for Health. 2014; http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13094.en_ZA
dc.languageengen_ZA
dc.language.rfc3066en
dc.publisherBioMed Centralen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentPrimary Health Care Directorateen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Health Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)*
dc.rights.holderHatcher et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en_ZA
dc.sourceHuman Resources for Healthen_ZA
dc.source.urihttp://www.human-resources-health.com/
dc.titlePlacement, support, and retention of health professionals: national, cross-sectional findings from medical and dental community service officers in South Africaen_ZA
dc.typeJournal Articleen_ZA
uct.subject.keywordsCommunity serviceen_ZA
uct.subject.keywordsPlacementen_ZA
uct.subject.keywordsPublic sectoren_ZA
uct.subject.keywordsRuralen_ZA
uct.subject.keywordsSouth Africaen_ZA
uct.type.filetype
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceArticleen_ZA
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