1. My experience in COBES has increased my desire to work in rural areas provided I am assured of continuous professional development (M, 26, T)
UNIVERSITY FOR DEVELOPMENT STUDIES (UDS)
SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND HEALTH SCIENCES (SMHS)
Phytic acid-to-iron molar ratio rather than polyphenol concentration determines iron bioavailability in whole cowpea meal among young women
The willingness of medical graduates to work in rural communities in Ghana
Amalba A, Mogre V
University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana.
Abdul-Razak Abizari 1,2, Diego Moretti2, Stephan Schuth3, Michael Zimmermann2, Margaret Armar-Klemesu4 and Inge D. Brouwer2
1University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana. 2Wageningen University, Wageningen, Netherlands. 3Institute for Mineralogy, University of Hannover, Germany. 4Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, Accra, Ghana
Background
Results
Career choices and placements of healthcare professionals in the rural areas are a major problem worldwide, and their recruitment and retention to these areas have become a big challenge in the health sector across the world.
Almost 43% of the graduates were females. Fifty percent and 41.1% of them hailed from cities and urban towns respectively. Of the 56 graduates who took part in the survey, 33(58.9%) of them indicated their willingness to accept postings to the rural community; majority of them were male graduates 23(69.7%). Again 19 (57.6%) and 12 (36.4%) graduates from the cities and other urban areas respectively, were willing to work in a rural area.
A female graduate from the city wrote: ‘I am more willing to work in a rural area, although I have always wanted to work in the north, I now have the motivation to do so’.
A male graduate from the city remarked: ‘It (COBES) created awareness on the plight of rural northern Ghana. I will not refuse a posting to northern Ghana’,
A male graduate from an urban town remarked: ‘I am willing to work in the district and extend to the deprived areas of Ghana because that is where the real problems are’.
‘A male graduate from an urban town: ‘My experience in COBES has increased my desire to work in rural areas provided I am assured of continuous professional development’
Objective
The objective of this study was to investigate the willingness of graduates to work in rural areas in Ghana
Methods
This cross sectional survey was conducted among 56 pioneering graduates that followed a Problem-based learning /Community-based Education and Service (PBL/COBES) curriculum in UDS-SMHS. An exit questionnaire that had both closed and open-ended questions was administered to the graduates to assess their willingness to work in a rural area.
Conclusions
Generally, the graduates were willing to work in rural
areas. A PBL/COBES curriculum could serve as a platform to influence medical graduates’ to work in rural communities.
Acknowledgements
NUFFIC through SHE collaborates, Maastricht University,
The Netherlands or