SURMEPI

The role of socially accountable universities in improving the selection of medical students from rural and underserved areas

K Moodley, T Fish, S Naidoo

Abstract


As rural areas in South Africa have a lack of human resources for health, selecting rural-origin learners for health sciences education can serve to improve
the number of health sciences graduates choosing to work in these areas. Schools within rural areas are however characterised by poor infrastructure,
limited access to water and electricity and fewer skilled teachers, resulting in poor performance of learners. The poor performance in mathematics and
science is a concern as these serve as gateway subjects to the health sciences. The Stellenbosch University Area Health Education Centres (SU-AHEC) focus
on interventions in rural and underserved schools with the aim of enhancing learner performance in mathematics and science to improve access to tertiary
health professions education. This project is funded by the US President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief in South Africa.


Authors' affiliations

K Moodley, SURMEPI, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa

T Fish, Community Service and Interaction, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa

S Naidoo, Area Health Education Centres, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa

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Keywords

Area Health Education Centres; Human resources for health; Rural-origin medical students; School education

Cite this article

African Journal of Health Professions Education 2015;7(1):76. DOI:10.7196/AJHPE.504

Article History

Date submitted: 2014-08-29
Date published: 2016-01-26

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