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PubMed · 10488361

The Agincourt field site--evolution and current status.

S M Tollman
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Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To describe the evolution and current status of the Agincourt field site, Bushbuckridge, in South Africa's rural north-east. SETTING: A defined subdistrict, with a population of some 60,000 people including Mozambican refugees, in a former 'homeland' area with substantial labour migration. APPROACH: Three phases are described: origins and establishment of the field site; a programme of health systems research underpinned by multi-round (prospective) demographic and health surveillance; and contributions to the University of the North's Dikgale field site. COMMENT: Knowledge of trends in population health (e.g. mortality) is important when shaping the skill base and organisational framework of a district health system. There are valuable opportunities for collaborative research with field sites elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa, and within South Africa itself. This will be facilitated by a common data model. A country-wide network of field sites, with surveillance capability, would complement the occasional national census and demographic and health survey, and strengthen South Africa's embryonic health information system.

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Community Health ServicesCooperative BehaviorDemographyForecastingHealth Services ResearchHumansPopulation SurveillancePrimary Health CareResidence CharacteristicsRural HealthSchools, MedicalSouth AfricaJournal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

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S M Tollman. 1999. The Agincourt field site--evolution and current status.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10488361/

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