Primary health care has been the cornerstone of South Africa's health policies since its transition to democracy in 1994. In order to optimise the effectiveness of primary health care, the South African government introduced community health committees hich were intended to facilitate primary health care at the grassroots level through community participation. As statutory bodies outlined in the National Health Act, 61 of 2003, and in provincial legislation, Community Health Committees were to be the liaison between communities and government and assist government in improving health services in communities. Since being re-established in 2010, Community Health Committees in the Nelson Mandela Bay Health District, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa have sought to fulfil this role and have remained sustainable. This research was aimed at investigating the strategies and approaches which sustain Community Health Committees in Nelson Mandela Bay Health District. It focused on eliciting information regarding the factors that sustain Community Health Committees, factors that threaten their sustainability and factors that motivate continued membership in Community Health Committees. Qualitative research methods of key informant interviews, observations and focus groups were used and analysed to identify these factors. The findings indicated that Community Health Committees struggle to remain sustainable because of various threats to their functioning. The major threat identified was the disengagement of the Department of Health in the operations of the Community Health Committees. The Department of Health was not visible; rather it was passive and unresponsive to the reports submitted by Community Health Committees on behalf of their communities and provided no re-imbursement for administration costs. Despite threats to sustainability, these Community Health Committees had commitment, passion and drive to assist with the health improvement of their communities in partnership with health facilities in their communities. Good interpersonal relationships in the Community Health Committees, good professional relationships with the health facility staff and the liaising role played by health facility management are some of the factors that contributed to sustainability. Recommendations were made at the end of the study that may assist the Nelson Mandela Bay Health District and the Department of Health to create a working environment that will be conducive to the sustainability of Community health Committees.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:8905 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Shugu, Yolisa |
| Publisher | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, MBA |
| Format | ix, 72 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University |
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