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UCT Research Report '11
348
Further, in addition to subsidy-attracting publications,
academic staff produce a number of technical and
policy papers, which do not necessarily find their way
into peer reviewed journals, but which are integral to the
department’s advocacy and service mission, reflecting the
School’s strong social responsiveness profile in research
and scholarly activity.
The School’s research mission is reflected in the wide
range of research areas and entities in the School and
the department’s research outputs are notable for their
multidisciplinary perspective. In infectious diseases
and women’s health, publications cover childhood and
adult tuberculosis prevention, diagnosis and treatment;
HIV risk factors, treatment outcomes, adherence and
mortality; adolescent risk behaviour and educational
interventions; economic analysis of tuberculosis and
malaria treatment; HPV vaccination and cervical
cancer prevention and health systems aspects of care
related to TB and HIV. The integration of human rights
considerations into public health policy and health
systems practice receives attention in a number of
publications, including experiences of the Deaf and dual
loyalties among health professionals. The department
continues its pre-eminent role in occupational and
environmental health research with investigations into
occupational allergy, pesticides, hazardous metals and
lung disease due to mineral dust. Finally, the question of
equity of resource allocation in health, and particularly in
primary health care, continues to occupy researchers in
health economics, who remain the leading South African
source of peer-reviewed publications in this field. The
School has 4 NRF-rated researchers, including Prof
Mohamed Jeebhay, re-rated at B3 and Prof Lucy Gilson,
re-rated at B1.
The School also made its second award of the David
Bourne prize for the best student in the MPH programme
to Phiona Namale. The prize commemorates David
Bourne, a demographer in the School who died in 2009,
and who death left a huge gap in the HIV research world.
Division of Family Medicine
The mission of the Division of Family Medicine is to
graduate doctors who are able to enter their internship
and community service years with the appropriate
level of confidence and competence when diagnosing
and managing common primary care problems. They
are able to function fully in the PHC team, and able to
take the lead in district-based health care, teaching
and research in any community setting in South and
Southern Africa.
Our postgraduate students enrolled for the M Fam Med,
M Med (Fam Med), and M Phil (Pall Med) degrees are all
required to complete a research dissertation.
Research projects in progress include:
• early screening and brief motivational interviewing
studies of substance abuse and HIV risk behaviours
in Cape Town primary health care service users
(SA-USA)
• annual chronic care audits of hypertension and
diabetes mellitus at Community Health Centres in
Cape Town,
• Community situational analysis in the Mitchell’s Plain
sub-district completed in December 2011,
• Identifying factors that support improved outcomes
for HIV+ve patients with low CD4 counts
• brief motivational interviewing to improve adherence
to ARV treatment (SA-USA)
• assessing the extent of social accountability in health
science teaching, service and research.(TUFH)
• Ensuring core outcomes for palliative care interventions
in sub-saharan Africa (completed in 2010),
• evaluation of the value of early clinical exposure for
improving medical students’ understanding of the
primary health care approach, Partner in Southern
Africa Twinning project,
• The utility of Language learning during the BaDr
course as applied in the workplace: A survey of the
first five cohort of graduates from the new curriculum
• Factors contributing to the variation in prescription
Costs and its association with the quality of care for
diabetes mellitus and hypertension at PHC facilities in
the Western Metro of Cape Town
• Measuring primary care delivery in Cape Town using a
validated instrument – The Primary Care Assessment
Tool (PCAT Cape Town Study)
• Cervical screening audit of CHC’s in Metro West of
Cape Town
• Treatment and Outcomes in Palliative Care: a
randomized control trial
• How is Palliative Care part of the Right to Health? SA
evidence
• An exploration of the use of communication skills by
medical practitioners in assisting their patients from
curative to palliative care
• The Palliative Medicine arm has a strong postgraduate
training programme which attracts students from
diverse African and other countries.
• In addition, the Division has Professor Richard Harding
from King’s College, London as a Visiting Professor for
the past year and he stays until October 2012. He is
involved in many international research projects and
has stimulated “research thinking” in the Division