Rural students’ motivation to study a health science degree
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Background. South Africa (SA) faces a critical shortage of healthcare workers, particularly in rural areas, while available spaces to study health science qualifications are limited, and therefore, understanding the motivation of health science students is important to ensure the health needs of the country are met. This study aims to understand the motivations of the rural-origin Umthombo Youth Development Foundation (UYDF)-supported students in pursuing a health science qualification, and the factors that influenced their decision.
Methods. The study employed a cross-sectional design, surveying 181 current UYDF students (86% response rate) across 13 health science disciplines. A self-developed questionnaire was used that included four structured questions, allowing participants to select multiple responses.
Results. Of the 181 respondents, 91% reported being motivated by altruistic reasons, such as a desire to help others and improve healthcare in their communities, while 81% reported a desire to improve their family circumstances. Financial remuneration (19%) and the high status of the profession (15%) were lesser considerations. The greatest influence on their decision was the need to improve their family circumstances (67%), followed by addressing staff shortages in their community (60%). Personal experiences with the healthcare system influenced 53% of the respondents to choose their career, while only 39% reported parental influence on their career choice. Most respondents (80%) had researched their chosen profession before applying, with 45% having spoken to professionals and 27% job-shadowed in their field. Almost all (98%) medical students were studying their first choice, while 36% of respondents studying other disciplines were studying their first choice. The majority (60%) of respondents decided to study a health science qualification while in secondary school.
Discussion. The findings suggest that rural-origin respondents in this study are motivated by both altruistic motivations and a desire to improve their socioeconomic and community conditions, which may contribute to a higher likelihood of long-term retention in rural healthcare settings. Conclusion. The motivations of rural students to pursue health science careers stem primarily from a deep desire to improve both their community and personal circumstances. For many, their motivation is reinforced by a personal experience of inadequate health service delivery. These insights should be considered by universities in their selection of students, and by the Department of Health, so that the critical healthcare needs in underserved regions of SA can be addressed.
Downloads
Article Details
Issue
Section
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The AJHPE is published under an Attribution-Non Commercial International Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY-NC 4.0) License. Under this license, authors agree to make articles available to users, without permission or fees, for any lawful, non-commercial purpose. Users may read, copy, or re-use published content as long as the author and original place of publication are properly cited.
Exceptions to this license model is allowed for UKRI and research funded by organisations requiring that research be published open-access without embargo, under a CC-BY licence. As per the journals archiving policy, authors are permitted to self-archive the author-accepted manuscript (AAM) in a repository.
How to Cite
References
1. National Department of Health, South Africa. Human Resources for Health South Africa: HRH Strategy for Health Sector: 2012/13 - 2016/17. Pretoria: NdoH, 2011.
2. Van der Merwe L, van Zyl G, Gibson A, et al. South African medical schools: Current state of selection criteria and medical students’ demographic profile. S Afr Med J 2016;106(1):76-81. http://doi.org/10.7196/SAMJ.2016. v106i1.9913.
3. Volmink J. Reconceptualising health professions education in South Africa. S Afr J Sci 2018;114(7/8). http://doi. org/114. 10.17159/sajs.2018/a0281.
4. Diab PN, Flack PS, Mabuza LH, Reid SJY. Qualitative exploration of the career aspirations of rural origin health science students in South Africa. Rural Remote Health 2012:12:2251. https://doi.org/10.22605/RRH2251
5. MacGregor RG, Ross AJ. Contribution of a bonded scholarship scheme to staffing rural health facilities. S Afr Med J 2024;114(3):e1608. http://doi.org/10.7196/SAMJ.2024.v114i3.1608
6. Maharaj SH. An investigation of the factors affecting the career choice of selected health-care students (physiotherapy, chiropractic, medicine and occupational therapy) in KwaZulu-Natal (Master’s dissertation). Durban University of Technology, 2008. https://doi.org/10.51415/10321/501
7. Mabuza LH, Ntuli B. What motivated students to choose a career in health sciences? A comparison of rural and urban-origin students in three South African universities. Open Public Health J 2018;11:44-53. http://doi. org/10.2174/1874944501811010044
8. Mashige KP, Oduntan OA. Factors influencing South African optometry students in choosing their career and institution of learning. Afr Vision Eye Health 2011;70(1):21-28. https://doi.org/10.4102/aveh.v70i1.90
9. Jothula KY, Screeharshika, D, Ganapa P, Naidu NK. Study to find out reasons for opting medical profession and regret after joining MBBS course among first year students of a medical college in Telangana. Int J Community Med Public Health 2018;5(4):1392-1396. https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20180983
10. Skatova A, Ferguson E. Why do different people choose different university degrees? Motivation and the choice of degree. Front Psychology 2014;5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01244
11. Teresa-Morales C, Rodríguez-Pérez M, Ramos-Pichardo JD. Reasons for choosing and completing nursing studies among incoming and outgoing students: A qualitative study. Nurse Educ Today 2023:125:105794. https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2023.105794
12. MacGregor RG, Ross AJ, Zihindula G. A rural scholarship model addressing the shortages of healthcare workers in rural areas. South African Health Review. Durban: Health Systems Trust, 2018: 51-57.
13. Wilson NW, Couper ID, de Vries E, Reid S, Fish T, Marais BJ. A critical review of interventions to redress the inequitable distribution of healthcare professionals to rural and remote areas. Rural Remote Health 2009;9(2):1- 21. https://doi.org/10.22605/rrh1060
14. Ross A, MacGregor G, Campbell L. Review of the Umthombo Youth Development Foundation scholarship scheme, 1999 – 2013. Afr J Prim Health Care Fam Med 2015;7(1). https:// doi.org/10.4102/phcfm.v7i1.739
15. MacGregor RG, Ross AJ. The effects of various retention factors on the choice of where rural-origin Umthombo
Youth Development Foundation health science graduates work. Rural Remote Health 2024;24:8251. https://doi. org/10.22605/rrh8251
16. Statistics South Africa. Education Series Volume III. Education Enrolment and Achievement 2016. Report No 92-01-03. Stats SA. https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/Report%2092-01-03/Report%2092-01-032016.pdf (accessed 11 March 2025).
17. MacGregor RG, Ross AJ. Performance of Grade 12 rural-origin health science students supported by the Umthombo Youth Development Foundation. Afr J Health Professions Educ 2025;17(3):2581. https://doi. org/10.7196/AJHPE.2025.v17i3.2581