Exploring community-based training opportunities for dental therapy students in non-governmental and private sectors in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa

Abstract

The current health system in South Africa (SA) struggles to meet the healthcare demands of its nation adequately, especially in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Province, SA, where the quadruple disease burden of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, chronic illnesses due to unhealthy lifestyles and injuries is increasing. [1] SA has a shortage of healthcare workers, who are unequally distributed between the public and private sectors. [2] The number of public sector healthcare workers are higher in urban than rural areas. [2] KZN has a population of >10 million, [3] with only 15% of them having some medical insurance and using the private sector health services, leaving 85% of the population dependent on the public health sector for their healthcare needs. [1] Many people from rural and disadvantaged communities have limited access to healthcare, including oral healthcare services. Consequently, many defer treatment for their dental problems, causing long-term effects on their physical and psychological health. Local communities in KZN have long since recognised the need to intervene, incorporating the government's deficits in social services by means of the philanthropy of donors and the socially aware through non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which are non-profit, nongovernmental entities. [4] They play an integral role in today's society. [4] NGOs include grass-root community-based organisations and faithbased organisations (FBOs), making significant contributions across many fields, such as education and research, social services, health, culture and recreation, law, development and housing. [4] NGOs attempt to supplement the public health service by increasing access to healthcare through service delivery and prevention programmes, as well as raising awareness of the improvement of health outcomes. [4] In KZN, their activities include health awareness, assessment of vital signs, examination and treatment by a medical practitioner, delivery of medication to patients, vision screening and cataract surgery. Oral health services range from oral health education and promotion, dental screenings, tooth extractions for relief of pain and sepsis, restorations, scaling and polishing to specialised work such as correction of cleft palates. These services are performed by health professionals on a voluntary basis and free of charge, in underserved and underinsured communities, helping to reduce the unmet health needs of the province and relieving over-burdened public clinics. Moreover, private companies become involved in service delivery by providing primary healthcare services to the community on a humanitarian basis, without any intention of making a profit. These community-driven healthcare projects, undertaken by the private sector and NGOs, can also serve as a platform for active student learning by providing opportunities for experiential learning for health professional students. The pedagogy underlying experiential learning is that experiences in authentic situations and environments are transformed into learning experiences throu...

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