The Research Cluster

The HST Research Cluster conducts health systems research covering a diverse and innovative range of topics. These are focused on efforts to strengthen decentralised health care that promotes health equity and improves access to services of acceptable quality for the most needy and vulnerable groups in the Africa region as a whole, but in southern Africa in particular.

The approach is based on the principles of essential national health research and primary health care, emphasizing mainly applied operational intervention studies geared at achieving the optimal functioning of. the district health system, its support structures, as well as priority programme areas such as sexual & reproductive health (HIV, STIs), infectious disease management (TB, diarrhea), especially where these impact on vulnerable groups such as  mothers and children. Building capacity to undertake research in support of the public sector is of specific importance in our work.

The following are illustrative of current or recently completed research projects. For further information please contact the principal investigator.

MOTHER AND CHILD HEALTH RESEARCH

1. The Goodstart Intervention & related Maternal and Child Health Care Projects.  
2. Evaluation of the Mothers’ Programme (m2m) in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH INCLUDING HIV AND AIDS, SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTION AND RELATED RESEARCH

1. Barriers to Implementation of the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act
2. Antiretroviral Adherence Study in five sites in KwaZulu Natal
3. Formative Evaluation of VCT Infrastructure Development in Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal Provinces.

TUBERCULOSIS RESEARCH

1. The Technical Assistance Support Contract Tuberculosis (TASC 2 TB) Project
2. Leakages in the TB Programme
3. The Social Determinants of Health: The Role of Incentives in Improving TB Outcomes

HEALTH SYSTEMS RESEARCH

1. The Impact of Decentralisation on Reproductive Health Services (RHD)
2. Baseline Audit of Resources Available For Information Management at A National and Provincial Level
3. Situation Analysis of PHC Infrastructure 2007: Informing a National PHC Facilities Audit: What Information Is Currently Available?
4. Occupational Disease Burden on the Public Health System – the Functioning of Surveillance Systems under the DoH’s Medical Bureau for Occupational Disease (MBOD) and Occupational Diseases in Mines and Works Act (ODMWA).
5. Refugee Health in South Africa
6. Operationalising Health as a Human Right: Monitoring Tools to Support Implementation of the Patient’s Rights Charter in the Health Sector.
7. Health Care Waste Management in Public Clinics in the Ilembe District: Situational Analysis and Intervention Strategy.

CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT/ HUMAN RESOURCES

1. Strengthening Provincial Research Committees (Including an Audit of Provincial Research Committees)
2. Evaluation of the Learning Complexes Project of the Centre for Rural Health
3. Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study Investigating the Career Choices of School Leavers In Relation To Nursing, And What Influences These Choices
4. Baseline Study on Opportunities for Expansion of the Expanded Public Works Programme Social Sector. Countrywide Institutional Audit and Capacity Analysis in Regards to Overcoming Obstacles in Mainstreaming the EPWP.
5. Community Health Workers – Moving Towards Best Practice: Documenting and Learning from Existing CHW Programmes.
6. Investigating an approach to developing a surveillance system for measuring the impact of CHW Programmes and the implications for Social Spending
7. Baseline Assessment of Youth Mentoring Programme

Resources and Information

• Internship Information Booklet
• Writing a research proposal for HST
• Health Systems Research - A Manual
• Past Conferences:
  • Public Health Conference 2003 - 24-26 March 2003
  • Seminar 2000:Policy implementation in South Africa
  • Informing Policy and Programs - Translation of information into action -30 September to 1 October 1999
  • Research in Action Getting the message across29th-30th September 1998 - Workshop
  • Report Back of Work-in-Progress Conference 1997
• Past projects:
  • District Health Systems and Local Government,
  • Reproductive Health and Decentralisation
  • Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS (PMTCT)
  • The HIV Mapping Project
  • HIV Impulse Project
  • The STI Initiative
  • An Audit of Voluntary Counselling and Testing in South Africa

Keywords	This Item is associated with the Following Keywords: Research.
You Can Comment on this Item, or View other people's Comments
Easy Print Email to a friend