The value of the WIRHE Scholarship Programme in training health professionals for rural areas : views of participants
Date
2017-10
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AOSIS publishing
Abstract
Introduction: Rural hospitals in South Africa, as elsewhere, face enduring shortages of, and
challenges in attracting and retaining, suitably qualified staff. The Wits Initiative for Rural
Health Education (WIRHE), based at the University of the Witwatersrand but covering three
universities, is a rural scholarship programme established to find local solutions to these
challenges in the North West and Mpumalanga provinces. The purpose of this evaluation was
to ascertain whether the WIRHE project was achieving its objectives.
Methods: This article draws from an evaluation commissioned by the Swiss-South African
Cooperative Initiative, a major funder of the programme when WIRHE was launched in 2003.
Qualitative interviews were conducted either as face-to-face meetings or telephonically with
21 WIRHE students and graduates. Content analysis was undertaken to identify common
themes.
Results: There was a consistency in the findings as the students and graduates reported similar
experiences. Many of the participants were overwhelmed by their initial challenges of having
to adapt to a different language, an institutional culture and resources that they previously did
not have access to. The participants acknowledged the role of WIRHE staff in facilitating the
transition from home to university and, in particular, the value of the financial and academic
support. The geographic distance to Wits presented a challenge for the Pretoria- and Sefako
Makgatho-based students. The holiday work affirmed clinical advantages for WIRHE students
and heightened students’ interest in becoming healthcare workers.
Conclusion: WIRHE’s key success factors are the financial, academic and emotional support
offered to students. WIRHE achieved its objectives based on a principled strategic approach
and an understanding that students from rural backgrounds are more likely to return to rural
areas. The study supports the value of structured support programmes for students of rural
origin as they pursue their studies.
Description
CITATION: Mapukata, N. O., Couper, I & Smith, J. 2017. The value of the WIRHE Scholarship Programme in training health professionals for rural areas: Views of participants. African Journal of Primary Health care & Family Medicine, 9(1): a1488, doi:10.4102/phcfm.v9i1.1488.
The original publication is available at https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm
The original publication is available at https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm
Keywords
Wits Initiative for Rural Health Education (WIRHE), Primary health care, Medical personnel -- Training of
Citation
Mapukata, N. O., Couper, I & Smith, J. 2017. The value of the WIRHE Scholarship Programme in training health professionals for rural areas: Views of participants. African Journal of Primary Health care & Family Medicine, 9(1): a1488, doi:10.4102/phcfm.v9i1.1488.