The Department of Statistical Sciences and the Clinton Health Access Initiative have come together to provide an exciting opportunity for Masters students through an fellowship programme. The programme provides an opportunity for students in their dissertation year to analyse government data to answer a policy-relevant question enabling them to receive work experience that is aligned with their dissertation. MASHA facilitated the establishment of this programme and is proud to present the STA-CHAI fellowship students below.

 

2025 Cohort 

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Juliet Morris 
Home Country: South Africa 
E-mail: mrrjul007@myuct.ac.za

Education: 

  • BSc in Genetics and Computer Science (University of Cape Town)
  • BSc (Hons) in Molecular and Cell Biology (University of Cape Town)
  • MSc in Data Science (University of Cape Town)

Project title:  Measuring the Impact of a Digital Calling System on Emergency Medical Services in Nelson Mandela Bay

Project description: In 2023, the Eastern Cape Department of Health implemented a Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) system for the Gqeberha Provincial Communication Centre’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS), replacing manual dispatch in Nelson Mandela Bay. To assess its impact, ambulance GPS tracker and EMS call centre data from before and after implementation were compared. The GPS data was grouped into trips using trip definition criteria, and trip frequency, duration and distance were compared across periods. Quantile regression was applied to the call centre data to examine associations between system- and patient-level factors and ambulance response times. These associations were then compared between the pre- and post-CAD datasets to investigate changes linked to the CAD implementation.

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Mireille Grobbelaar
Home Country: South Africa
E-mail: grbliz004@myuct.ac.za

Education

  • BSc Human Life Sciences – Stellenbosch University
  • BSc (Hons) in Physiological Sciences – Stellenbosch University
  • MSc in Physiological Sciences – Stellenbosch University
  • MSc in Data Science – University of Cape Town (Current)

Project title:  Exploring Patient Engagement and Retention in the Central Chronic Medicines Dispensing and Distribution Programme in South Africa

Project description: The Central Chronic Medicines Dispensing and Distribution (CCMDD) Programme is an alternative mechanism for stable patients within the South African public health sector to access their chronic medication through external pick-up points. Understanding how patients engage with the programme is important for evaluating its effectiveness and identifying areas of improvement. This study analysed de-identified prescription and package-level data ranging from 2021 to 2023 to discover trends in patient activity. Patient engagement was defined using different definitions for active status based on prescription renewal patterns and package collection behaviour. These activity statuses were then incorporated into logistic regression, including mixed-effects models to evaluate predictors of patient activity and to identify risk factors linked to retention and dropout. 

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Yamkela Kwakwi
Home Country: South Africa
E-mail: kwkyam001@myuct.ac.za

Education

  • BSc Applied Statistics and Biochemistry (UCT)
  • BMed Honours in Bioinformatics (UCT)