News

‘Eliciting public preferences in relation to health systems changes in South Africa’ 

A project on public engagement in health care systems change in South Africa has been launched by Black Sash (a South African civil society organisation) in collaboration with the Health Economics Unit (HEU) at the University of Cape Town and the Health-e News Service. Each of South Africa’s nine provinces will play host to a 2-day consultation workshop with civil society groups to consider public views on the values communities would like to underpin the South African health system and key issues that need to be addressed in restructuring the health system. 

The HEU is involved in documenting and critically assessing the deliberation processes occurring in the workshops in order to draw methodological implications for public engagement in health care policy. 

In the second phase of the project, the HEU will undertake a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to elicit the community’s preferences in health care delivery. The results of the DCE study will contribute to the design of policy for health system change in South Africa. 

Phase 1 is underway; research teams have visited the Eastern Cape (Port Elizabeth) and Durban (KwaZulu Natal) in May 2010. The Western Cape, Northwest and Mpumalanga are to be visited later this year. Dates have yet to be confirmed for 2011 visits to the Northern Cape, Free State, Limpopo and Gauteng. 

For more information about the project please contact: Elroy Paulus (elroy@blacksash.org.za).