Prudence Ditlopo

Prudence Ditlopo is a Researcher at the Centre for Health Policy (CHP). She holds an M.A. in Research Psychology, B.A. (Hons) in Psychology and B.A all from the University of the Western Cape. She is currently in the process of completing her PhD in Public Health at the University of the Witwatersrand focusing on the design and implementation of financial and non-financial incentives and their influence on the motivation and retention of health workers. She has 14 years research experience in broader public health issues and health systems and policy, specifically in human resources for health (HRH) research. At CHP, she has coordinated several HRH projects including the South African component of a multi-country study on the impact of strategies on motivation and retention of health workers in developing countries, policy analysis of the implementation of nursing policies in South Africa and most recently a longitudinal study focusing on the career choices and decisions of nurses. In her previous work as a Program Manager at Population Council, she provided technical support to the KwaZulu Natal Department of Health in developing comprehensive and evidence-based policy and guidelines in antenatal and postnatal care. She also worked at Social Surveys Africa where she managed research projects on gender and reproductive health issues and at the Human Sciences Research Council where she worked on HIV and AIDS research. Prudence has presented at several international and local conferences and she chaired sessions at the PHASA and International Public Health Symposium. She has seven peer reviewed articles in the field of health policy and systems research. Her research interests are human resources for health, health worker practice and motivation, incentives and health policy analysis. She serves at a number of committees within the School of Public Health and she is currently the Chairperson of the Health-e News Board, an award winning news agency that produces public health news to mainstream media.