Community Health

The Department of Community Health is part of the School of Public Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. It is a department focused on population health and public health research.

Its research strengths lie in health systems strengthening, vaccine implementation, and maternal and child health, with particular emphasis on HPV vaccination and HIV prevention. Studies draw on implementation science frameworks, qualitative inquiry and behavioural models to examine issues such as misinformation, consent and gaps in service delivery.

Further themes include digital epidemiology and urban health analytics, including artificial intelligence driven mapping of COVID-19 hotspots and urban wellbeing indices. The research is focused on South Africa and Zambia, and addresses universal health coverage policy, community health worker integration and laboratory capacity for prevention of mother-to-child transmission.