1. What is this piece about?

This piece documents topical issues that were presented at the inaugural SAFETP Alumni Symposium. It includes cross-cutting topics and recent health system commentary by prominent role-players.

2. Why does this matter?

As public health professionals, it is important to be aware of the work colleagues and counterparts are doing, not only for interest sake, but also to know about perspectives that may have been overlooked, and collaboration opportunities that may exist.

3. What drew your interest in this area of research?

As an FETP alumnus, I was invited to attend the symposium, and, as a budding professional, I am interested in broadening my knowledge as much as possible. Some people were not able to attend, so with this article I wanted to ensure that topics presented at the symposium are accessible to everyone in a single, “bite-size” format.

4. What was your role in the piece?

I participated in the conference and drafted the piece together with co-authors and speakers.

5. Why should people read this article?

For those who want to be brought up to speed, and see the direction of topical epidemiological and health system issues in SA, this piece is for you.

6. What impact do you hope this piece will have on public health policy and access to healthcare?

I hope this piece raises awareness about key issues outside of our normal day-to-day work. Ideally, it should improve multi-sectoral and cross-cutting collaboration to respond to key health-related problems in SA. This includes recommendations for epidemiology curricula and project ideas (that are not limited to journal articles). Additionally, by naming the speakers and their areas, we hope this can serve as a starting point for those who want to collaborate.

Mr Brian Brummer is an ex-physio turned epidemiologist at the National Institute of Communicable Diseases.

For a more in-depth look into this captivating piece, download the full article below.