Stellenbosch University – Alan J Flisher Centre for Public Mental Health

MPhil researchers Present on their research aims

*The 2019 MPhil group and their study advisors.*

The Alan J Flisher Centre for Public Mental Health’s latest group of MPhil students presented the topics of their research to members of the faculty and other interested individuals on 8 February 2019. The group of 7 students’ research focuses vary greatly and a lively question and answer session followed each presentation.

Owen Mwale presented on measuring quality and exploring barriers to quality improvement in mental health at the Zomba Mental Hospital in Malawi and Charles Shamayinda on perceptions and experiences associated with abscondment of severely mentally-ill patients at Chainama Mental Hospital in Zambia.

Then followed Shaheema Allie on exploring graduates’ experiences and perceptions of the Postgraduate Diploma in Addictions Care at the University of Cape Town and Zondiwe Banda from Malawi on the prevalence of substance use among secondary school learners aged 12 to 17 years of age and its risk factors in Mzuzu.

The fifth MPhil student who presented was Marshall Marufu and he plans to study the prevalence and factors associated with common mental disorders among adolescent offenders between 10-17 years entering into the juvenile justice system in Bulawayo and Matabeleland, North Province, Zimbabwe.

Zani de Wit plans to focus her research on the rate of depression and stress in TB infection and reinfection in a group of people living with HIV and Samukelisiwe Mbambo on the psychosocial factors associated with depressive symptoms in the workplace and using the Cape University of Technology as case study.

CPMH Sees Two PhDs Graduate

Crick Lund, Erica Breuer, Memory Nyatsanza and Marguerite Schneider

Prof Crick Lund, Dr Erica Breuer, Dr Memory Munodawafa and Prof Marguerite Schneider after the graduation ceremony.

The Alan J Flisher Centre for Public Mental Health is proud of its most recent PhD graduates. Dr Erica Breuer, Project Manager for the CPMH’s project for Improving Mental Healthcare (PRIME) graduated after focusing on “Using Theory of Change to design and evaluate complex mental health interventions in low and middle-income countries: the case of PRIME”.

Dr Memory Munodawafa’s research dissertation was titled: “Filling the Gap: Development and qualitative process evaluation of a task sharing psycho-social counselling intervention for perinatal depression in Khayelitsha, South Africa.”