Graduate Focuses on Medical Record Research

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Ms Samantha Chareka of Zimbabwe graduated with a Master’s degree in Social Sciences in Health Research Ethics but is now worried about getting employment.

‘I am happy that I have a master’s degree but now the thought of being unemployed haunts me. One would think getting a job is easier once you get a master’s degree but it is not.’

Finance was a problem for her during her studies. ‘My father struggled to get money for my studies. This really motivated me because he used to say that I am doing something bigger than myself and he had to help me achieve it.

‘Almost every week he would remind me how proud he was of me. Being the first born child, a female and excelling in school, and the first Chareka to get a master’s degree was enough motivation for me,’ she said.

Chareka worked as a waitress. ‘This slowed down my progress because I never had enough time to work on my project.  Working as a waitress also made me doubt my studies and that is when depression and anxiety kicked in. I wanted to give up studying because I felt it wasn’t worth it and thought that going back to Zimbabwe was better than trying to finish my thesis.

‘My supervisor, Professor Douglas Wassenaar, reassured me and supported me during those difficult times.’

Chareka’s thesis focuses on Black UKZN students’ perceptions about the use of their medical records for research purposes.

‘I wanted to find out under what circumstances they were willing to let researchers access their medical records. That is, whether they wanted researchers to get consent every time they wished to use the records, how they thought confidentiality would be obtained and why they allowed or denied researchers access to their records,’ she said.

Her research highlights important ethical issues that researchers have to take into account when they are accessing an individual’s personal records.

‘Most people are supportive of such research when they are assured that there would be no breach of confidentiality and that it would help the community at large,’ she said.

Reflecting on her family support system, Chareka said: ‘My studies actually made our relationship stronger. I couldn’t have done it alone. When I felt trapped and depressed they kept encouraging me. As the first person to get a master’s degree in my whole family, my extended family members also supported me.’

She thanked her family, friends and supervisor for their support and also the Columbia University-Southern African Forgarty AID International Training and Research Program (AITRP) through the Fogarty International Center, National Institute of Health, for providing funding for her research.

She plans to pursue a PhD in the future and advises other students to remain steadfast in their studies.

Melissa Mungroo