ArticleAfrican journal of primary health care & family medicine2017
Geographical distribution and profile of medical doctors in public sector hospitals of the Limpopo Province, South Africa.
Article in African journal of primary health care & family medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- Psychometric Validation of the Community Antimicrobial Use Scale (CAMUS) in Primary Healthcare and the Implications for Future Use.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Knowledge and attitudes towards antibiotics and antimicrobial resistance among patients in rural South Africa and the implications for future policies.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Prevalence and Associated Factors for Purchasing Antibiotics Without a Prescription Among Patients in Rural South Africa: Implications for Addressing Antimicrobial Resistance.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Outpatients' satisfaction with healthcare services received at a district hospital in Botswana.Ghana medical journal · 2022Observational
- Investigating the risk factors for academic difficulties in the medical programme at a South African university.BMC medical education · 2022Article
- A low-cost field ventilator: An urgent global need.Health science reports · 2021Article
- Elucidating challenges and solutions in the maternal healthcare, identified by medical doctors in northern South Africa: a qualitative study.The Pan African medical journal · 2020Article
- Assessment of Useful Alien Plant Species Cultivated and Managed in Rural Home Gardens of Limpopo Province, South Africa.Scientifica · 2020Article
- Challenges experienced by health care professionals working in resource-poor intensive care settings in the Limpopo province of South Africa.Curationis · 2019Article
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundThe shortage and unequal distribution of medical doctors in low- and middle-income countries continues to be a public health concern.
objectiveTo establish the geographical distribution and demographic profile of medical doctors in public sector hospitals of the Limpopo Province, South Africa.
methodThe PERSAL system was used to obtain information on the number of medical doctors employed in public sector hospitals of the Limpopo Province. Data were exported from PERSAL's database and then analysed using STATA version 9.0.
resultThe mean age of the 887 medical doctors was 40.1 ± 11.2 years (range 24-79 years). Sixty per cent of the doctors were male, 66% were aged ≤ 45 years and 84% were African. Most of the doctors (86%) were medical officers, of which 55% had < 5 years working experience. Overall, the doctor-to-population ratio for the five districts in the province was 16.4/100 000, with Capricorn (33.7/100 000) and Waterberg (20.2/100 000) recording the highest ratios. A large proportion (43%) of medical officers are employed in the Capricorn District, of which 71% were practising at the tertiary hospital.
conclusionThis study demonstrated a shortage and maldistribution of medical doctors in the public sector hospitals of the Limpopo Province. This has a potentially negative effect on the delivery of an appropriate and efficient healthcare service to the population and requires urgent attention.
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