UWCScholar
This repository serves as a digital archive for the preservation of research outputs from the University of the Western Cape.
Communities in UWCScholar
Select a community to browse its collections.
Recent Submissions
Realities of using self-administered smartphone surveys to solve sustainability challenges
(Springer Nature, 2025) Anciano, Fiona; Dube, Mmeli; Lewis, Amy
To fill data gaps in human-environment systems, especially in difficult-to-access locations, novel tools are needed to collect (near) real-time data from diverse populations across the globe. Here we discuss the practicalities, constraints, and lessons learnt from six field studies using high spatial and temporal smartphone surveys in six different countries. We suggest that high spatiotemporal, self-administered smartphone surveys will produce novel insights into human behaviour, attitudes, and socio-economic characteristics that, when matched with high spatiotemporal resolution environmental data (e.g., from remote sensing), can be used to address sustainability challenges for global communities. Furthermore, we highlight the need for continuous refinement and improvement in future developments to enhance the efficacy of this methodology. By sharing the practical implications and constraints associated with smartphone surveys, this article contributes to the evolving landscape of data collection methods.
Women’s and girls’ sexual empowerment differs by geographical context: a population-based validation study
(BioMed Central Ltd, 2025) Omoluabi, Elizabeth; Wood, Shannon; Dozier, Jessica
Objective: To validate a sexual empowerment sub-scale of the Women’s and Girls’ Sexual and Reproductive Empowerment Index (WGE-SRH) across eight countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, and compare sexual empowerment across these contexts. Methods: This study leverages cross-sectional, population-based survey data collected among women of reproductive age in Burkina Faso (n = 4,012), Côte d’Ivoire (n = 2,278); Kongo Central, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC (n = 1,097)); Kinshasa, DRC (n = 1,143); Rajasthan, India (n = 4,004); Kenya (n = 5,454); Kano, Nigeria (n = 780); Lagos, Nigeria (n = 804); Niger (n = 2,286); and Uganda (n = 2,228) to validate eight sexual empowerment measures via confirmatory factor analysis. Overall scores of the validated measures were descriptively examined across settings. Findings: Final models confirm the theoretical structure of the sexual empowerment measure, including two- dimensions: “existence of choice” and “exercise of choice”, each comprised of three items, with moderate internal consistency ranging from 0.59 to 0.69. Factor loadings, goodness-of-fit, and percent agreement varied in Rajasthan, India compared to sub-Saharan African settings. Marked variations were seen across sites in women’s perceptions of their partners’ responses to refusing sex, as well as their own confidence in voicing when and when not to have sex. Conclusion: This measure was developed in sub-Saharan Africa and works well for the population that it was designed to serve, however, cannot be extrapolated to other settings. To comprehensively capture the dynamic nature of sexual empowerment, future research is needed to examine measures across cultures and time. Validation across diverse settings opens avenues for holistic examination of positive sexual health, including factors that enhance women’s sexual empowerment and rights.
Perceptions on causes and effects of common oral diseases among HIV-positive and HIV-negative adults in Kigali, Rwanda: a qualitative study
(BioMed Central Ltd, 2025) Yengopal, Veerasamy; Murererehe, Julienne; Malele-Kolisa, Yolanda
Introduction: Exploring perceptions of oral health can influence the design of interventions to prevent common oral diseases and contribute to quality dental care of patients. There is lack of qualitative studies that explored patients’ perceptions regarding possible causes and effect of oral diseases in Rwanda. Aim: The study aimed to explore perceptions on causes and effect of oral disease among HIV-positive and HIV-negative adults at Kigali, Rwanda. Method: A qualitative study design using in-depth interviews (IDIs) were conducted among 21 patients with caries and or periodontal diseases including 10 HIV-positive and 11 HIV-negative adults from the HIV clinic of Kigali Teaching Hospital (CHUK). The interview was conducted in Kinyarwanda using an interview guide. The audio recording was done for subsequent data analyses. Thematic content analysis was used to analyze the data using an inductive approach. NVivo software version 11 was used to code and organize the data. Results: Two broad domains and six themes emerged from the results. The first broad domain was “perceptions on causes of oral diseases” with two themes (individuals and external factors). The second broad domain was “perceptions on oral diseases effect” with 3 themes (physical or functional effect, psychological effect and social effect). Interviewees perceived individuals’ factors (diet, lack of oral hygiene, older age, delayed dental visit, negligence, lack of knowledge, poverty, heredity) as possible causes for their oral diseases. In addition, HIV-positive participants perceived antiretroviral treatment and HIV infection among the possible causes for their caries and periodontal disease. The reported perceptions on oral diseases effect were physical or functional effects (affected appearance, eating difficulty, pain, difficulty smiling or laughing); psychological effects (heartbreak, being annoyed, feeling inferior, anxiety, being unhappy, being worried, hopelessness) and social effects (avoidance or self-isolation, shame or embarrassment and exposure to mockeries). The summary patterns on perceptions of oral diseases showed more frequency of HIV-positive interviewees reporting physical or functional effect and psychological effects compared to HIV-negative counterparts. Conclusion: Interventions are needed to prevent caries and periodontal diseases and their effects by tackling various individual, external factors thereby limiting physical, psychological and social effect associated with oral diseases. More attention should be given to high-risk group of HIV-positive people.
Policy implementation and recommendations to address the double burden of malnutrition in South Africa: expert assessment using the expanded Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI)
(BioMed Central Ltd, 2025) Mchiza, Zandile June-Rose; Holliday, Nicole; Delobelle, Peter
Background: South Africa faces a double burden of malnutrition (DBM), the coexistence and interaction of multiple forms of malnutrition (undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and overweight/obesity) within individuals and households and across the life course. A healthy food environment is necessary to reduce this DBM. The Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI) can be used to evaluate the implementation of public nutrition and food environment policies in comparison with international best practices. The aim of this study was to assess the extent of implementation of healthy food environment policies in South Africa using an expanded DBM Food-EPI framework, benchmark policies against international best practices, develop priority policy recommendations, and compare implementation progress since the 2016 South African Food-EPI assessment. Methods: From October 2023 to March 2024, a panel of 23 national experts from different tiers of government (Department of Health), academia, and civil society was invited to participate in the Food-EPI assessment. Through two workshops and online feedback, experts evaluated the implementation of food environment policies across 60 indicators, compared these policies to international best practices, and proposed and prioritized a list of policy actions based on perceived implementation gaps. Results: Of the 23 invited experts, 13 participated in the benchmarking workshop in which about 70% of indicators were rated at very low to low levels of implementation. Overall, of the 48 original indicators, the mean level of implementation improved from 2016 to 2024. Of the 12 indicators that addressed the DBM, eight were rated at very low to low levels of implementation. The experts (original panel plus four additional participants) then proposed ten priority actions, mainly across the domains of Food Promotion, Food Prices, Funding, and Platforms for Interaction. Conclusions: Application of the expanded Food-EPI in South Africa showed improvements for the original indicators compared with 2016 and highlights the need for additional policy efforts to improve public nutrition policy and address the DBM.
Have cryptocurrencies arrived in the system of fiat currencies? An appraisal based on monetary policy uncertainty
(Elsevier Ltd, 2025) Dimpfl, Thomas; Cagli, Efe
This paper examines the relationship between Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and monetary policy uncertainty (MPU). Bitcoin was introduced in 2008 as a decentralized digital currency, free from government control, to offer an alternative to traditional fiat currencies. Given its independence from central banks and, thus, monetary policies, Bitcoin is often considered a hedge against economic instability and uncertain monetary environments. Understanding if and how Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies react to monetary policy uncertainty allows us to evaluate how integrated cryptocurrencies are into the fiat currency monetary system. To this end, this study empirically investigates the predictive power of MPU regarding cryptocurrency prices and volatility. It shows that by and large, the returns and the volatility of cryptocurrencies are independent from MPU which indicates that cryptocurrencies are still special and not a part of the fiat system.