Maties & Ikeys Gauteng-Mpumalanga field trip 2012: Agincourt Health and Demographic Surveillance & Malaria Control Programme

By Charlyn Goliath

All excitedly the group departed to Agincourt and after traveling for a few kilometres we were stopped by the traffic cops. We received a “R3 000.00” ticket, payable at any traffic officer along the road. What an eventful start to the day!

Our arrival at the Agincourt
Health and Demographic Surveillance Unit

Agincourt Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) is a project of the MRC and Wits Rural Public Health and Transitions Unit within Agincourt. The need for the project was identified in 1992 when there was very little information available on the health status of rural populations. The HDSS is a longitudinal population registration system that monitors demographic dynamics in a geographically defined population. It is an integrated field and computing operation, designed to manage the longitudinal follow up of individuals, households and residential units and related demographic and health outcomes within the site.

Ryan Wagner the project manager gave us an overview of the HDSS project.

Ryan Wagner

Activities structure

Bush Buck Ridge study area map

Demographics

Field trippers listening attentively

A Learning, Information dissemination and Networking with Communities (LINC) unit was started in 2004 to assist with maintaining community networks. Audrey, the manager of the LINC unit, gave an overview of the LINC programme.

We visited a site office of the HDSS to get a better understanding of what happens with the census forms once completed.

Afterwards the “public health cencus workers” took out their hats and hit the road with the data collectors to do a household cencus. This provided the group insight into the information that is being collected and processes that is followed.

Census awareness

En route to the census 2012 field office

The team learning about the census in the field office

Thembi from the Wits Rural Facility was like our
mother during the field trip

Community visit with the census field workers

Sorted out census forms

On the left are 4 census data capturers

Ryan showing us the filing room

We had a wonderful lunch prepared by locals from the community.

Agincourt AHPU:
http://www.agincourt.co.za/

After lunch we departed to learn more about the Malaria Control Programme of the Bushbuckridge Sub-district. Mr Alpheus Zita gave us an overview of the programme. There has been an increase in imported cases of malaria due to migration patterns in this sub-district. Tintswalo hospital, a district hospital in this region, was the highest reporting facility for 2011/12.

Spray operators from the local community are used for the vector control programme. Spraying is done once a year in dwellings and twice a year in lodges and game reserves. The environmental impact of DDT was highlighted during the presentation. Surveillance work is being done by case investigators and these case investigators visit health facilities to collect malaria notifications for reporting purposes and follow-up on patients in the communities.

The presentation was followed by a demonstration of the spraying. Muthei has decided to give up her day job and become a spray operator.