A community-engaged health outreach program is a temporary intervention designed to address health risks faced by a specific population. This report examines the impact of a community-engaged health outreach program conducted at the Tabase Clinic in Mthatha, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. This tripartite health service, educational, and research outreach initiative was conceptualized and organized by Walter Sisulu University Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, National Health Laboratory Service, Eastern Cape Department of Health, and Tabase clinic committee. During the outreach, the Tabase clinic functioned as a one-stop multidisciplinary team polyclinic, comprising nurse-physician-paramedical teams from the Departments of Paediatrics, Urology, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Family Medicine, Physiotherapy, Pathology, Dentistry, Public Health, Social Work, Pharmacy, National Health Laboratory Service, Nursing, Orthotics and Prosthetics, and non-governmental organizations. There was a 6-fold increase in the number of clients who received healthcare at Tabase clinic during the outreach compared to regular days (from 50 to 60 to 388 clients). The attendees resided in villages that are up to 41 kilometers away from the Tabase clinic. The Tabase clinic catchment area has a high burden of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, epilepsy, pulmonary tuberculosis, extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), asthma, schizophrenia, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), cancer, cold, and flu. Males were the majority of attendees (53.1%) tested for HIV, a Men's Corner strategy attributed to this. Among those tested, 4.7% were newly diagnosed HIV cases, and clients were initiated on antiretroviral therapy. The health outreach also contributed to the learning of MBChB level four and six, honours, and masters’ students of the WSU Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. The major unmet need in the community was the lack of an ophthalmologist and an ear, nose, and throat specialist. All domains assessing perceptions of quality, relevance, and organization scored significantly above the neutral midpoint (Likert scale of 3; p 0.05; R software, Version 4.3.1), confirming the strong acceptance of the program by the community. While logistics and educational delivery were not strongly scored. This outreach successfully bridged a vital gap in healthcare at the community level, enhancing community-based education and service.
Mbulawa et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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