Prof Christo Heunis
Photo: Johan Roux
Prof Christo Heunis focuses on TB and HIV/AIDS integration systems
Prof Christo Heunis introduction: video Prof Christo Heunis, Associate Professor and Director of the Centre for Health Systems Research & Development (CHSR&D), focuses on the health-systems aspects and the public-sector management of the TB-HIV/AIDS co-epidemic in South Africa. He is an NRF C2 researcher.
His PhD research assessed hospitalisation for TB in the Free State. He has participated in 35 research and development projects (16 as principal investigator) and in eight national and provincial policy-making and planning, as well as in ten grant-making forums/initiatives.
The focus of his research is on the integration of TB and HIV/AIDS programmes – particularly HIV testing of TB patients, also systems to ensure integrated (co-) prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care, including TB screening of people living with HIV/AIDS. The focus is on patient/social/system (not medical or clinical) aspects.
Hospitals and hospitalisation are also areas of research. Included are hospitals in the world, in Africa, and in South Africa; early missionary hospitals; hospitals as isolation facilities (eg for TB); private hospitals and the profit motive; the role of public and private hospitals in the pending National Health Insurance and PHC Revitalisation systems; social dynamics of hospitals, including hospital management and industrial action in hospitals, the hospital patient-experience, and hospitals and communities.
He serves on the Health Systems Trust’s Health Systems Research Subcommittee, is Vice-Chairperson of the Free State Provincial Health Research Committee, a member of the International Union of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease.