Through our SARChI programme we aim to provide new knowledge on how best to strengthen the performance of the South African health system. We have undertaken research on primary care, its relationship with specialist services and on the District healthcare management, focusing on the following themes:
Financing: challenges to public financial management including cost estimating and monitoring; strategic purchasing and its challenges
Human resources: coverage and quality of care provided by the community health worker progamme; collaboration between specialists and primary care to strengthen mental health services
Governance: importance of supportive employee-manager relationships and unintended consequences of bureaucratic accountability; implementation of electronic health records in the public sector
Access to care: need for respectful, empathetic practices for improving access and the restoration of justice and health; hospital discharge and accommodation services for people living with serious mental illness