The University of Pretoria (UP) is a multi-faculty research-intensive university that has remained among the top South African universities in research output and impact. UP is also the top producer of graduates in the country. UP currently has more than 50 000 students and has become one of the leading higher education institutions on the continent. Its nine faculties and business school offer a diverse range of degrees, diplomas and certificates, over 1 000 of which are postgraduate programmes.
Students in the Faculty of Health Sciences are trained by 600 academic staff members located in four schools, namely Dentistry, Healthcare Sciences, Health Systems and Public Health and Medicine. Training is in partnership with the Gauteng Health Department in Steve Biko, Kalafong and Weskoppies Hospitals and Mpumalanga’s Witbank Hospital and its community.
From left to right:
Dr Gerhard P Grobler, the principal psychiatrist and head of the clinical unit Psychiatry at Steve Biko Academic Hospital, in partnership with the Department of Psychiatry. He is the co-investigator and national lead in South Africa, as well as a lead researcher & project manager for the MEGA project.
Tumisang Chiloane is a research assistant at the University of Pretoria and has also been involved in the MEGA project as a trainer for participating clinics at the UP site.
In the MEGA project, the UP team is responsible for the implementation and evaluation of the mobile application, which involves establishing contact with the relevant political and health care authorities at the selected health care districts in South Africa and Zambia.
The healthcare workers at participating sites in Pretoria have been trained and are equipped to initiate the implementation of the MEGA mobile application. The post-evaluation of the training suggests that the primary healthcare workers are comfortable with incorporating the MEGA app into their daily practice. They will require some technical support and regular visits to troubleshoot any issues pertaining to the use of the app.
