Contribution of a bonded scholarship scheme to staffing rural health facilities

Abstract

Abstract BackgroundThere is a mal-distribution of health care professionals (HCP’s) between rural and urban areas, while rural areas carry a disproportionate burden of both communicable and non-communicable diseases. The Umthombo Youth Development Foundation (UYDF) has a bonded scholarship scheme that recruits and supports rural health science students in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Province, South Africa, having produced 488 (March 2021) graduates since 1999. The aim of this study was to determine the number of UYDF graduates who continue to work in rural areas after graduation. MethodsData was obtained from the UYDF database. ResultsOf the 405 eligible professionals, 45% are still working at rural public healthcare facilities (PHCF), 36% at urban PHCF, and 12% in the urban private sector. Just over half (57%) of the 125 doctors worked at a rural PHCF for 1-2 years, and 32% for three plus years. Sixty percent of nurses worked at a rural PHCF for 7 - 10 plus years; while 80% of optometrists, 70% of dental therapists and nurses remained for 5 - 10 plus years. Overall, 56% of all graduates worked for three or more years at rural PHCF.Discussion and conclusionsThe UYDF initiative has shown that with the appropriate support, rural youth have succeeded in qualifying as HCP’s and assisted in addressing staff shortages at their local hospitals. However, employment moratoria by the KZN Department of Health significantly negate the full benefit of programme as graduates are unable to be employed at rural PHCF.