Researchers at University of the Witwatersrand Have Published New Study Findings on Family Practice (The views of family physicians on National Health Insurance in Gauteng Province, South Africa): Health and Medicine – Family Practice

2024 APR 22 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health & Medicine Business Daily -- Investigators publish new report on family practice. According to news reporting out of the University of the Witwatersrand by NewsRx editors, research stated, “Universal health coverage (UHC) improves national health outcomes while addressing social inequalities in access to quality healthcare services. The district health system (DHS) is critical to the success of UHC in South Africa through the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme.”

Our news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from University of the Witwatersrand: “Family physicians (FPs), as champions of primary care, are central to the DHS operation and implementation of NHI. This was a qualitative exploratory study that used semi-structured interviews to explore FPs views and engagement on NHI policy and implementation in their districts. Ten FPs were included through purposive sampling. Most of the FPs interviewed were not engaged in either policy formulation or strategic planning. The NHI bill was seen as a theoretical ideology that lacked any clear plan. Family physicians expressed several concerns around corruption in governmental structures that could play out in NHI implementation. Family physicians felt unsupported within their district structures and disempowered to engage in rollout strategies. The FPs were able to provide useful solutions to health system challenges because of the design of their training programmes, as well as their experience at the primary care level.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Healthcare governance in South Africa remains located in national and provincial structures. Devolution of governance to the DHS is required if NHI implementation is to succeed. The FPs need to be engaged in NHI strategies, to translate plans into actionable objectives at the primary care level. This study highlights the need to involve FPs as key actors in implementing NHI strategies at a decentralised DHS governance level.”

For more information on this research see: The views of family physicians on National Health Insurance in Gauteng Province, South Africa. South African Family Practice, 2024,66(1):e1-e10. The publisher for South African Family Practice is AOSIS.

A free version of this journal article is available at https://doi.org/10.4102/safp.v66i1.5831.

Our news editors report that more information may be obtained by contacting Shane D. Murphy, Department of Family Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Additional authors for this research include Klaus von Pressentin, Shabir A. Moosa.

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