Developing family medicine in South Africa: A new and important step for medical education

Hellenberg, Derek; Gibbs, Trevor

doi:10.1080/01421590701827890

Cited by 25 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…There is a particular lack of information about faculty development in Sub-Saharan Africa. De Villiers and Hellenberg have described the evolution of family medicine in South Africa, including the challenges of establishing the role and value of the discipline in a low-resource country and the reorientation of Family Medicine teachers, trained in a biomedical paradigm, to a patient-centered approach [19, 20] Furthermore, Family Medicine in Nigeria is described as encompassing family care dynamics, primary medical care, and facility-based care either in clinics or in hospitals [21]. While these papers provide descriptors of Family Medicine and the challenges to developing a clear Family Medicine identity in Africa, they do not identify faculty development competencies.…”

Section: Commentarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Faculty development in family medicine education: what is needed?

Johnson¹,

Cayley²,

Nguyen³

et al. 2017

Pan Afr Med J

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A growing number of countries are embracing graduate training in the specialty of Family Medicine as a core component of global health systems reform. One significant challenge for new programs is to adequately prepare for educational excellence and leadership. Promising residents are often encouraged to remain in their program as faculty, but may not have had the benefit of specific training in teaching, curriculum development, learner assessment or educational leadership. Faculty Development is a potential avenue to providing these skills to new Family Medicine Faculty and to encourage new graduates to consider teaching. We are currently seeking to further clarify what the current needs and future possibilities are for Family Medicine Faculty Development in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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Section: Commentarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Faculty development in family medicine education: what is needed?

Johnson¹,

Cayley²,

Nguyen³

et al. 2017

Pan Afr Med J

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“…3,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22 Qualitative studies have explored the opinions of African leaders and managers on the potential contribution and possible roles of family physicians in the district health system (DHS). 23,24,25,26 There is, however, little quantitative evaluation of their actual impact to guide policy- and decision-makers on the deployment of family physicians.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…5,19 This event paved the way for structured postgraduate training through training posts (registrars) and a consensus on training outcomes. 5 This developmental phase included the creation of new family physician posts within the DHS.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining the influence of family physician supply on district health system performance in South Africa: An ecological analysis of key health indicators

Pressentin

Mash

Esterhuizen

2017

Afr. j. prim. health care fam. med.

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BackgroundThe supply of appropriate health workers is a key building block in the World Health Organization’s model of effective health systems. Primary care teams are stronger if they contain doctors with postgraduate training in family medicine. The contribution of such family physicians to the performance of primary care systems has not been evaluated in the African context. Family physicians with postgraduate training entered the South African district health system (DHS) from 2011.AimThis study aimed to evaluate the impact of family physicians within the DHS of South Africa. The objectives were to evaluate the impact of an increase in family physician supply in each district (number per 10 000 population) on key health indicators.SettingAll 52 South African health districts were included as units of analysis.MethodsAn ecological study evaluated the correlations between the supply of family physicians and routinely collected data on district performance for two time periods: 2010/2011 and 2014/2015.ResultsFive years after the introduction of the new generation of family physicians, this study showed no demonstrable correlation between family physician supply and improved health indicators from the macro-perspective of the district.ConclusionThe lack of a measurable impact at the level of the district is most likely because of the very low supply of family physicians in the public sector. Studies which evaluate impact closer to the family physician’s circle of control may be better positioned to demonstrate a measurable impact in the short term.

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“…In 1997, these eight departments of family medicine formed a network for communication and consultation, FaMEC (Family Medicine Educational Consortium), to share and exchange expertise, form a core curriculum and standardize examinations and develop appropriate assessment systems (12). In August 2007, the South African government officially recognized family medicine as a specialty (13). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Family medicine training in sub-Saharan Africa: South-South cooperation in the Primafamed project as strategy for development

et al. 2014

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Background.Health-care systems based on primary health care (PHC) are more equitable and cost effective. Family medicine trains medical doctors in comprehensive PHC with knowledge and skills that are needed to increase quality of care. Family medicine is a relatively new specialty in sub-Saharan Africa.Objective.To explore the extent to which the Primafamed South–South cooperative project contributed to the development of family medicine in sub-Saharan Africa.Methods.The Primafamed (Primary Health Care and Family Medicine Education) project worked together with 10 partner universities in sub-Saharan Africa to develop family medicine training programmes over a period of 2.5 years. A SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis was done and the training development from 2008 to 2010 in the different partner universities was analysed.Results.During the 2.5 years of the Primafamed project, all partner universities made progress in the development of their family medicine training programmes. The SWOT analysis showed that at both national and international levels, the time is ripe to train medical doctors in family medicine and to integrate the specialty into health-care systems, although many barriers, including little awareness, lack of funding, low support from other specialists and reserved support from policymakers, are still present.Conclusions.Family medicine can play an important role in health-care systems in sub-Saharan Africa; however, developing a new discipline is challenging. Advocacy, local ownership, action research and support from governments are necessary to develop family medicine and increase its impact. The Primafamed project showed that development of sustainable family medicine training programmes is a feasible but slow process. The South–South cooperation between the ten partners and the South African departments of family medicine strengthened confidence at both national and international levels.

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Developing family medicine in South Africa: A new and important step for medical education

Cited by 25 publications

References 3 publications

Faculty development in family medicine education: what is needed?

Faculty development in family medicine education: what is needed?

Examining the influence of family physician supply on district health system performance in South Africa: An ecological analysis of key health indicators

Family medicine training in sub-Saharan Africa: South-South cooperation in the Primafamed project as strategy for development

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