Dr Prudence Ditlopo

Dr Prudence Ditlopo is a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Health Policy in the School of Public Health, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), South Africa. She is currently a visiting fellow collaborating with Prof Sassy Molyneux at the Nuffield Department of Medicine Centre for Global Health Research, University of Oxford, through a joint fellowship by the Africa Oxford Initiative (AfOx) Visiting Fellowship programme and the Female Academic Leaders Fellowship (FALF) programme.

With over two decades of research experience, Dr Ditlopo’s work lies at the intersection of health care provision, health systems and policy, gender, and reproductive health, with a strong focus on human resources for health (HRH). Dr. Ditlopo's work has contributed to the understanding of various aspects of the healthcare system, including identification of effective management practices that promote health worker motivation, performance, and retention in the public health sector. Her research interests include workforce governance and management, health worker practice and performance, the mental health and wellbeing of healthcare providers, and implementation research. She currently leads the IMAGENE project, which investigates the interplay between health facility management, the nursing practice environment, workforce outcomes, and quality of care.

Dr. Ditlopo is a dedicated educator with over ten years of experience coordinating the Health Systems and Policy field within the Master of Public Health program at the University of the Witwatersrand. She has also successfully supervised numerous postgraduate students. She has served on several institutional committees and was elected to the University Senate in 2023. Nationally, she has served on the high-level Health Ministerial committee delegated to develop the 2030 health workforce strategy for the country. Through her fellowship at Oxford, Dr Ditlopo aims to critically examine the concept of workplace alienation and its implications for human resource management in the health sector in low and middle-income countries. This will provide the foundation for future research and strengthen her international networks.

• Ditlopo P, Rispel L.C, Van Bogaert P. Blaauw D. (2024). The impact of the nurse practice environment, workload, and professional support on job outcomes and standards of care at primary health care clinics in South Africa: A structural equation model approach. International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances, 7(100241).
• Rispel L.C, Ditlopo P, Blaauw D. (2024). Vaccination status, personal and workplace experiences of early-career health professionals in the WiSDOM cohort study during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa. BMJ Open, 14: e089998.
• Ramsamy R, Ditlopo P, Rispel L.C. (2021) Determinants of approved incapacity leave among health professionals in a South African provincial health department. Occupational Health Southern Africa. 27(6): 200-206
• Rispel L.C, Ditlopo P, White JA, Blaauw D. (2021). Methodological considerations in establishing and maintaining longitudinal health workforce studies: Lessons learned from the WiSDOM cohort in South Africa. Global Health Action. 14(19996688).
• Rispel LC, Ditlopo P, White JA, Blaauw D. Socio-economic characteristics and career intentions of the WiSDOM health professional cohort in South Africa. (2019). PloS One. 14(10): e0223739.