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Rural Health (CRH)

 

DIRECTOR: Professor Ian Couper

As part of its on-going commitment to assisting the development of health care for all people
in South Africa, the University of the Witwatersrand established the Centre for Rural Health in
the Faculty of Health Sciences in 2008. The Centre’s focus is on human resource development
for rural health care through advocacy, teaching, research and policy through support and
sustainability.

The conception of the Wits Centre for Rural Health (CRH) began in 2003 when the University’s Faculty of Health Sciences recognised a demand for rural health care improvements. These demands were broken down and key areas were highlighted and targeted.

The Centre was   seen as a long-term project but has since seen rapid growth where academic support and educational approaches are provided to both undergraduate and postgraduate health care students. The promotion of focused and team-related tasks by the centre has led to the aim of recruiting and retaining as many health science students within rural communities due to the current shortage of such practitioners. Furthermore, collaborative research   is performed in order to pin-point areas of focus for future directionality.

It is together with the University, partners and sponsors that the CRH has been able to take an active stance in the improvement of lives to those in lower socio-economic environments through rural development, access, relevance and affordability.

Master of Public Health (MPH) in the field of Rural
Health

In its efforts to  provide better health care to all people of South Africa, the Rural Health unit, in cooperation with the School of Public Health (SPH), offers a postgraduate degree, in the form of a Master of        Public Health in the field of Rural Health, to health care workers practising or intending to practise in the rural areas of South Africa and Africa. There is a critical need for health care professionals in rural areas who can take leadership in supporting and developing the health service in these areas, in designing appropriate health systems, and in researching and advocating around the health needs of rural people.   This field of study is aimed at addressing these needs.

The aims of the qualification are, within the rural context, to:

  • Provide students with the necessary skills to address the health needs of their respective rural communities.
  • Enhance their public health knowledge to manage not only existing conditions but also to promote health and prevent diseases within the communities in which they practise.
  • Enable  them to be effective leaders in  the health service, manage their resources, develop appropriate programmes, work with communities, and advocate on behalf of rural people.
  • Enable  them to monitor the effectiveness of their interventions through research and thus also provide evidence for other rural health care practitioners.

Structure

Students do the generic first year MPH and then take specific courses in the second year related to the field of study, as well as completing research in the field of rural health. Master of Public Health (Rural Health) students are awarded a Master of Public Health (Rural Health), after completing the required core and electives modules as part of their coursework and participating in rural based research.

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