Dr. Deidre Pretorius

Deidre Pretorius is a South African academic in Family Medicine whose work centres on strengthening primary health care practice and training. Affiliated with the University of the Witwatersrand, her scholarship addresses gaps in holistic, patient-centred care within district and rural health systems. She is recognised for advancing socially responsive approaches in frontline clinical settings.

Her research foregrounds sexual history taking in chronic care, revealing systemic, relational and socio-cultural barriers that lead to overlooked sexual dysfunction. Through qualitative and mixed-methods studies, she highlights communication deficits and advocates for guideline reform to embed sexual health screening into routine consultations, reframing it as integral to biopsychosocial wellbeing.

Beyond sexual health, her publications examine clinician adherence to diabetes guidelines, obesity management experiences, vaccine acceptance, behavioural change counselling, domestic violence screening, and innovations in registrar training through blended learning. Collectively, this body of work demonstrates strengths in health systems improvement, medical education, and evidence-informed strategies to enhance quality and equity in primary care.