Medical doctor, Ansermeah Maseeha’s PhD study in Leadership Studies aimed to identify strategies to address the multi-level issues and long-standing challenges confronting the South African public healthcare system.
Her research entitled: Healing a Fractured Healthcare System: A System Dynamics Review, examined the links between different components of public healthcare and unpacked more robust, scientific methods to identify blind spots and design effective interventions.
Maseeha obtained her Medical degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, and was also awarded a Master of Commerce in Leadership Studies summa cum laude by UKZN’s Graduate School of Business and Leadership. She is among the few Medical doctors who have chosen to explore leadership programmes designed to embrace complexity in healthcare delivery and management.
Drawing on her experience as a Medical Officer in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Maseeha examined variables such as average length of stay, time to surgery and optimal bed allocation and explored the systemic pathology of the ailing healthcare system. The study employed an investigative, exploratory mixed-methods research approach to examine the factors linked to patient care, encompassing patient flow management and cost savings. Maseeha recognised that a mechanistic, reductive approach to such critical issues impacts patient care and service delivery: ‘The primary locus of this study coalesces on the merits of System Dynamics (SD) to contextualise healthcare resource allocation predicaments within broader health paradigms. This was utilised to quantitatively and qualitatively investigate the intrinsic advantages of proposed interventions before the symptoms of breakdown become evident.’
More in-depth research on the pragmatic aspects of applying SD in developing countries ‘will bridge the hiatus between knowledge and practice by embedding problem-solving merged with action research methods,’ she asserts. ‘With much guidance from Dr Shamim Bodhanya and Professor Cecile Proches, I began to gradually unlock an innovative approach which helped formulate the broader theoretical and conceptual frameworks of this study.’
She said she hopes this will enable these systems to adapt to the ever-changing world. ‘This research will hopefully contribute to revamping healthcare systems to align with the evolving realities of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA), thus enabling hospitals to confront the complexities of current and future obstacles and opening pathways towards a collective vision of an inspired future, empowering change-makers to shape a better world.’
Words: Samukelisiwe Cele
Photograph: Sethu Dlamini