SAMRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit of Wits’ School of Public Health and SA Medical Research Council, has a field research centre in South Africa’s rural northeast. The Agincourt health and socio-demographic surveillance system, established in 1992, comprises 31 villages and 120,000 people. This platform links to clinical data from primary care clinics and district hospitals, generating robust data on rapidly transitioning populations. It supports observational and interventional studies across the life course, health systems research and development, and policy evaluations.
Telling South Africa's rural story South Africa's rural story highlights much of what is going on with health and wellbeing across the country. Agincourt uses longitudinal research to track rural stories of health, economic participation, climate change, adolescence, and much more.
Mental health matters for teenagers in rural South AfricaDepression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, and its incidence peaks during adolescence. In South Africa, around 20% of adolescents struggle with symptoms of depression. Left untreated, depression interferes with young people’s ability to fulfil their potential and is a significant risk factor for suicide. Effective psychological treatments to address depression exist, but the reality is that most young people do not have access to them.
Confronting complex health challenges in southern AfricaAgincourt responds to colliding infectious and non-communicable epidemics, focusing on the well-being of adults and the vulnerabilities of adolescents while engaging new technologies to enable patient care.
Opening of the Data Sciences and Innovation HubThe opening of the new Data Sciences and Innovation Hub at Wits Rural Campus marks 30 years of rural public health research and sets the scene for an innovative epoch in 2023.
Agincourt Data Sciences and Innovation HubTake a look inside Wits University's newly-launched Agincourt Data Sciences and Innovation Hub in Mpumalanga.
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