The socioeconomic impact of rural-origin graduates working as healthcare professionals in South Africa

Figures & data

Table 1: Overview of all UYDF graduates as at December 2017

Location	No.	%
Work locations of all UYDF graduates in December 2017 (n = 337):
Internship	42	13
Rural areas	187	56
Public hospitals	45	13
Private hospital	27	8
Specialising	11	3
NGOs	8	2
No post/locum	8	2
Studying	4	1
Unemployed	2	1
Deceased	3	1
Total	337	100
Work locations of UYDF graduates who had completed their work-back obligations in December 2017 (n = 145):
Rural areas	91	63
Public hospitals*	27	19
Private hospitals*	15	10
Specialising*	4	3
NGOs	8	6
Total	145	100
Professional qualifications of UYDF graduates (n = 337)
Specialty
Audiologist	4
Biomedical technologist	15	4
Clinical associate	1	0
Dentist	4	1
Dental therapist	10	3
Dietitian	11	3
Environmental Health	1	0
Doctor	113	34
Nurse	40	12
Nutritionist	1	0
Occupational therapist	8	2
Optometrist	14	4
Orthotist	1	0
Pharmacist	31	9
Psychologist	7	2
Physiotherapist	29	9
Radiographer	29	9
Social worker	14	4
Speech therapist	4	1
Total	337	100

Source: MacGregor¹⁵*—these are not in rural areas.

Table 2: Participants’ demographic characteristics (n = 40)

Characteristic	No.	%
Age (years):
Youngest	23
Oldest	39
Mean	31
Gender:
Males	20	50
Females	20	50
Type of school participants attended:
Non-fee (quintile 1, 2, 3)	35	95
Public fee-paying schools	5	5
Number of siblings:
0	2	5
1–3	12	31
4–6	20	51
7+	6	14
Marital status:
Married	24	59
Unmarried	16	42

Table 3: Professional characteristics of participants (n = 40)

Characteristic	No.	%	Profession	Male, no.	Female, no.
Study completion year:			Audiology	1	1
2005–2011	9	23.8	Dentistry	2	0
2012–2013	15	36.0	Dietetics	2	1
2014–2015	16	41.2	Medicine	3	2
Number of years in employment:			Nursing	1	3
2–3 years	14	35.0	Occupational therapy	1	2
4–6 years	17	42.5	Optometry	1	1
7+ years	9	22.5	Pharmacy	3	4
Current gross monthly salary:			Physiotherapy	3	2
R10000–R24999	17	42.5	Radiography	1	1
R25000–R30000	11	27.5	Radiology	1	0
R35000–R40000+	12	30.0	Social work	1	3

Table 4: Household socioeconomic assets before and while working after graduation

Factor	Household socioeconomic assets	Previously owned (%)	Currently owned (%)	Observations
	Alternative power source	05.3	12.5	Doubled
Power supply	Electricity	41.0	92.5	Doubled
	Power generator	10.3	20.6	Doubled
	Solar energy	13.2	00.0	Decreased
	Computer or laptop	10.3	74.4	Increased 7x
	DVD player	35.9	48.7	Increased
Equipment	Electric or gas stove	56.4	92.1	Doubled
	Internet by computer	05.1	29.7	Increased 6x
	Internet by mobile	12.8	79.5	Increased 6x
	Microwave	25.6	87.5	Tripled
	Mobile phone	69.2	92.3	High increase
	Radio	94.9	74.4	Use decreased
	Refrigerator	48.7	95.0	Doubled
	Satellite TV or DSTV	18.0	79.5	Quadrupled
	Sewing machine	18.0	02.9	Decreased
	Television	43.6	85.0	Doubled
	Telephone	20.5	35.9	Increased
	Washing machine	05.1	21.1	Quadrupled
Ablution	Toilet facility indoors	15.4	71.1	Increased 5x
Transport	Bicycle	30.8	08.8	Decreased
	Motorcycle	00.0	00.0	None
	Motor vehicle	23.1	82.5	Quadrupled

MacGregor RG. Umthombo Youth Development Foundation Annual Report 2017. [Internet]. [cited 2019 Mar 11]. Available from: https://www.umthomboyouth.org.za.

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