Influence of the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPfAR) on career choices and emigration of health-profession graduates from a Ugandan medical school: a cross-sectional study
Loading...
Date
2013
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
BMJ open
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to
determine the current work distribution of health
professionals from a public Ugandan medical school in
a period of major donor funding for HIV programmes.
We explore the hypothesis that programmes initiated
under unprecedented health investments from the US
President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief have
possibly facilitated the drain of healthcare workers from
the public-health system of countries like Uganda.
Design: Cross-sectional study conducted between
January and December 2010 to survey graduates,
using in-person, phone or online surveys using email
and social networks. Logistic regression analysis was
applied to determine ORs for association between
predictors and outcomes.
Setting: Located rurally, Mbarara University of Science
and Technology (MUST) is one of three government
supported medical schools in Uganda.
Participants: Graduates who completed a healthrelated
degree at MUST.Location of health
profession graduates (Uganda or abroad) and main
field of current job (HIV-related non-governmental
organisation (NGO) or others)We interviewed 85.4% (n=796) of all MUST
alumni since the university opened in 1989. 78%
(n=618) were physicians and 12% (n=94) of graduates
worked outside Uganda. Over 50% (n=383) of
graduates worked for an HIV-related NGO whether in
Uganda or abroad. Graduates receiving their degree
after 2005, when large HIV programmes started, were
less likely to leave the country, OR=0.24 (95% CI 0.1
to 0.59) but were more likely to work for an HIVrelated
NGO, OR=1.53 (95% CI 1.06 to 2.23).A majority of health professionals
surveyed work for an HIV-related NGO. The increase in
resources and investment in HIV-treatment capacity is
temporally associated with retention of medical
providers in Uganda.
Description
Keywords
Citation
Bajunirwe, F., Twesigye, L., Zhang, M., Kerry, V. B., & Bangsberg, D. R. (2013). Influence of the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPfAR) on career choices and emigration of health-profession graduates from a Ugandan medical school: a cross-sectional study. BMJ open, 3(5), e002875.doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2013-002875