Moonira Mullah
Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Title: Global Perceptions of the Profession of Medical Laboratory Sciences
Biography
Biography: Moonira Mullah
Abstract
Biomedical Laboratory Technologists or Scientists play a fundamental role in diagnosis and disease management of patients. “South Africa has the largest economy in Africa but is one of the most inequitable societies in the world, illustrated by the disparity between private and public sector healthcare funding. Eighty-four percent (84%) of South Africans cannot afford to contribute to private health care insurance and are thus reliant on the public health care systems which utilise the laboratory services provided by the National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS). The NHLS provides South Africans access to pathology services in both the private and state funded medical laboratories. The service provides a comprehensive range of laboratory tests across all Medical Laboratory Science disciplines. A mere 16% of the South African population belong to private medical aids which gives them greater benefits for utilisation of private pathology laboratory services after consultation with a clinician. These private pathology laboratories provide additional comprehensive specialised diagnostic analyses for patient treatment.
This was a qualitative study making use of semi-structured open ended questions. Over 480 surveys were sent out using an online programme called Survey Monkey. There was a response rate of 32.4%.
Majority of the respondents were Medical Technologist employed in private pathology laboratories. Approximately 98.59% of respondents were registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa, however, only 54.23% were active members of the Society of Medical Laboratory Technologist of South Africa. The majority of respondents were female with job satisfaction of approximately 71.90%. More than 30% of respondents were employed for longer than 15 years with their current employer