Centre for Rural Health

This project will conduct research to explore how the decentralized training platform facilitates community engagement. It has funding for 2 PhD and 1 masters students. One PhD student has been recruited and a potential 2nd PhD student identified. Unfortunately due to tragic turn of events, the PhD student withdrew from the project due to health reasons (she had a stroke in early December 2017). Ruth Mokoatle, the project manager for the homestay project, is now being supported in her Masters project through ComET. A second PhD has been recruited and has commencing her proposal development at the beginning of 2019.

In November 2018 a symposium was held at UKZN led by Prof Lebo Moletsane and Bernhard Gaede to explore Community Engagement at UKZN, using Community Connect as a case study. The outcome of the symposium was to explore making a submission to Senate regarding the need to formalize Community Engagement at UKZN. As part of the submission an assessment of the Community Engagement activities at UKZN is being undertaken in collaboration with Corporate Relations section (currently the custodians of Community Engagement). In response Corporate Relations is currently mapping the community engagement activities of UKZN.

A further seminar is being planned with Prof Moletsane focusing on concrete areas of development for UKZN is proposed for early 2020 together.

As per proposal, the study uses the Community Connect (formally homestay project) as a context to explore the decentralization of health professional education. It supports the exploration of Social return on Investment approach to evaluate the Community Connect project.