Introduction• Interned for the head of the public

engagement office of the Medical Research Council/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit

• Unit is a Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) site that attempts to better understand the dynamics of health, population, and social transitions in rural South Africa

Engaging with Rural Public Health:A Summer with MRC/Wits

Tomi Lawal, Class of 2020Acornhoek, South Africa | Agincourt, South Africa

Funded by CHW under the International Internship Program

Reflections

Work Profile• Main task was to create fact sheets that

contained the important information from last year’s annual census

• Fact sheets distributed at annual village community feedback meetings and reach approximately 100,000 people in the 32-village HDSS site

Figure 3: Picture of a community feedback meeting in one of the villages, Croquet Lawn.Objective of Internship

• Wanted to experience public health work firsthand, and South Africa was a point of interest based on past studies.

Figure 1: Panoramic picture of the Agincourt village community feedback meeting.

• Helped the unit produce the fact sheets translated in the local language, Shangaan, for the first time

• Annual census transitioning to an electronic census in an attempt to have up-to-date methods of collecting and disseminating information

• Saw in meetings how the aim was for a research smart community

Looking Ahead•Solidified interest in pursuing a certificate in Global Health and Health Policy in addition to being premed

•Considering doing more work on the continent through another University program, but ideally in Nigeria due to familial ties

Questions• Will the transition to an electronic census

improve data collection?

• Is the work of this HDSS effectively informing the village communities and changing attitudes?

Conclusion• This internship was a great opportunity to

see the inner works of the public health sector. Though the work was often clerical, it provided a vantage point to see the logistical work that goes on behind the scenes of public health.

AcknowledgementsI would like to acknowledge my supervisor, Rhian Twine and her co-workers under Wits University for being extremely friendly and hospitable. I would also like to acknowledge the Center for Health and Wellbeing, and the International Internship Program for awarding me with this amazing opportunity.

Figure 2: Population pyramid comparison of the original Agincourt HDSS site from 1994 and the same site from 2016. Information like this would be adapted for each of the 32 villages to reflect the village population.

• Had the opportunity to go out into the field with both influenza research team and HIV treatment as prevention team

• In addition to learning about the operations of a public health research unit, my supervisor provided interesting historical context of the research unit area

Figure 4: A field worker from the influenza research team in the midst of collecting a mucus sample from a nasopharyngeal swap.