Ede and Ravenscroft Prize 2008
Report by Gretchen Hanke
As part of my Human Biology degree, I was not originally planning to undertake the Diploma in Professional Studies (DPS) placement year as part of my programme. However, upon discovering at an informational meeting that I could undertake a placement anywhere in the world, I immediately began pondering the possibilities.
I had an amazing opportunity to do my DPS year with the Birth to Twenty Research Programme (Bt20), which is based in Johannesburg-Soweto, South Africa. This programme, also known as Mandela’s Children, is “the largest and longest running study of child and adolescent health and development in Africa.” It began shortly after Nelson Mandela’s release from prison in 1990, enrolling a cohort of 3,273 children born during a 7-week period. Since then, Bt20 has collected data regarding the subsequent growth, development, health and wellbeing of these children since birth.
My placement commenced at Year 18 data collection, and after ticking the many boxes of the visa process, I finally made it to Johannesburg in mid-January, 2009 and stayed until the end of May. Participating in such a large research study enabled me to learn a multitude of valuable skills. I was assigned to the Bone Health department, to which around 500 participants of the cohort were randomly assigned in order to undergo assessments specific to determining bone density, body composition, etc. The Bone Health team was based at the medical school of the University of the Witwatersrand, which is connected to Johannesburg General Hospital. My responsibilities included administering interviews to the participants, which covered a range of topics relating to socio-economic status and education, and taking anthropometric measurements for the female participants. This included limb lengths, circumferences, and skinfold thicknesses. Since data collection took place 2-3 days out of the week, I spent the remainder of my time cleaning Year 16 data (i.e. systematically checking for errors), organising a data cleaning workshop (which I presented to both data teams at Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto), and working on my individual DPS project.
My project investigated three commonly-used prediction equations for body fat (the main variables being skinfold thicknesses) to see if they could be adequately used in predicting percentage body fat of early pubertal South Africans. My results showed that the equations that were originally developed on White Americans worked well for White South Africans, but those equations developed on African Americans and Gambians could not be cross-validated in Black South Africans. This project showed me the importance of screening early pubertal children for obesity (using a field-friendly method such as prediction equations) and implementing intervention measures if necessary. As I am pursuing a career in Medicine, I see how vital it is to apply evidence-based research to a clinical setting. I was also able to experience work and culture in a developing country, and I hope one day to return and apply medical experience to aid those who do not have the same benefits as those in developed countries.
Putting the valuable work and educational experiences aside, I also feel that this experience enabled me to develop personally and to travel a country I otherwise may not have had a chance to see. The local people that I worked with were lovely and welcoming, and I do hope to make it back someday to visit. For the few months I was there, I felt at home, and that is in large part to the team I worked with. I truly believe Africa is one of those places that once you visit it, you continually feel the urge to go back! South Africa is a beautiful country full of friendly, endearing people.
Without the support of the Ede and Ravenscroft Prize, it would have been extremely difficult to get the funding to fly to Johannesburg, so I would like to sincerely thank the board of assessors for their consideration. This award enabled me to have an invaluable experience supporting my future ambition of working as a doctor in developing countries.
Gretchen Hanke