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.

Now showing 1 - 5 of 11

Recent Submissions

“If there is no data, how do we improve?” Exploring health workers’ perspective on stillbirth recording in the Ashanti Region of Ghana
(BioMed Central Ltd, 2026) Mensah Abrampah, Nana A; Okwaraji, Yemisrach B; Oteng, Kenneth Fosu; Asiedu, Ernest Konadu; Larsen-Reindorf, Rita; Blencowe, Hannah; Jackson, Debra
Background: Health workers play a critical role in documenting the estimated 2 million stillbirths that occur annually. From the moment a stillbirth occurs, a health worker is responsible for recording the birth outcome. The reliability of stillbirth data for informing global and national-level strategies on stillbirths depends on the information recorded by the health worker at the point of care. This study aimed to gain insights into the health worker practices and challenges related to stillbirth recording and reporting. Methods: The qualitative study explored three objectives using an a priori framework: 1) experiences, perceptions, and attitudes; 2) barriers; and 3) support mechanisms available to health workers for stillbirth recording and reporting. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 health workers, including midwives, medical officers, physician assistants, and health information officers. The study was conducted across four secondary and four primary care facilities in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. All health facilities are government owned. Thematic analysis was performed. Results: Under experiences, perceptions, and attitudes, inconsistent definitions were used to describe stillbirths. Health workers described stillbirths using various gestational age thresholds, including 24-,28-,36-, and 38-weeks. Some health workers did not reference gestational age when describing stillbirths. Pre-service education shaped knowledge on stillbirths and its recording, with limited opportunities for in-service training. The motivation to record stillbirths was influenced by both intrinsic, driven by the moral imperative to do what is right, and extrinsic factors, influenced by district-level standards. Misclassifications and omissions of stillbirths occurred due to a higher workload, a large volume of forms requiring completion, limited knowledge and experience, and a deliberate effort to minimize facility mortality rates, especially in cases of macerated stillbirths. For barriers to stillbirth recording, midwives reported that blame was evident at three levels: blame from the broader health system, blame within the organizational facility-level, and individual-level blame. The failure to implement audit recommendations was identified as a bottleneck perpetuating negative attitudes toward collecting stillbirth data. The engagement of clinical staff in audit reviews and training was identified as support available to health workers. Conclusion: We need to understand the health worker experiences, perceptions, and attitudes that underpin stillbirth data to reduce the stillbirth burden. The study suggests several recommendations, including socializing the national stillbirth definition, and reviewing audit protocols.
Advancing sociological understanding of felt and enacted stigma through the experience of mothers raising children with disabilities in Nigeria
(SAGE Publications Ltd, 2026) Platt, Lucinda; Lazarus, Suleman; Edward-Dibiana, Duma; Dibiana, Edward Tochukwu
A longstanding sociological tradition of stigma research has highlighted its salience and consequences, both for children with disabilities and their parents. Yet, while it is recognised that forms of stigma are embedded in structural conditions and social context, understanding of how disability-related stigma plays out is overwhelmingly restricted to high-income countries. This is despite the fact that the prevalence of child disability is higher, and the associated economic and social challenges more severe in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This article advances sociological understanding of disability-related stigma and its consequences through thematic analysis of interviews with 22 mothers of children with disabilities in Nigeria. We analyse how their experience is embedded in the structural features of their society, an LMIC marked by high inequality, constrained state schooling, and an absence of disability support. We show how these conditions help perpetuate forms of felt stigma rooted in dominant cultural understandings of disability that serve to isolate mothers, and forms of enacted stigma typified by children’s educational and social exclusion. We further explore how mothers negotiate these attitudes and behaviours. Our findings show both concordance with and difference from existing sociological studies of disability-related stigma, demonstrating the relevance of attending to salient but under-researched settings.
The anisotropic expansion rate of the local universe and its covariant cosmographic interpretation
(Institute of Physics, 2026) Kalbouneh, Basheer; Marinoni, Christian; Maartens, Roy; Bel, Julien; Santiago, Jessica; Clarkson, Chris; Sarma, Maharshi; Virey, Jean-Marc
Without making any assumption on the underlying geometry and metric of the local Universe, we provide a measurement of the expansion rate fluctuation field using the Cosmicflows-4 and Pantheon+ samples in the redshift range 0.01
A microplastic meal: a baseline assessment of microplastic polymer presence within manta-ray (Mobula alfredi) feeding grounds at D'Arros Island and the St. Joseph Atoll
(Elsevier Ltd, 2026) Choppy, Monik T; Duncan, Murray I.; Gordon, Nuette; Pouponeau, Dillys K; Bullock, Robert W; Grimmel, Henriette M V; Rajkaran, Anusha
Microplastic ingestion by reef manta rays ( Mobula alfredi ) is a threat to their health and population stability. Seychelles' outer islands are vital habitats for M. alfredi but nothing is known about marine microplastic pollution in the area. Using plankton tows from D'Arros Island and St. Joseph Atoll – a key aggregation site, we quantified microplastic polymer type and relative abundance from locations where reef manta rays were actively feeding. We found polybutylene terephthalate (PBT, 1079 particles, 66%) to be the most abundant polymer using our screening technique. A polymer concern assessment identified polyurethane (PU), polyacrylonitrile (PAN), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and PBT as “Very High” concern polymers that warrant further attention. We find no significant relationship between total microplastic abundance and zooplankton biomass indicating M. alfredi does not ingest relatively greater quantities of MPs while feeding at this aggregation site.
An overview of current knowledge on microalgae and macrophytes in South African estuaries, highlighting progress made and future research directions
(Elsevier B.V., 2026) Adams, JB; Rajkaran, Anusha; Riddin, T
South Africa’s 3000 km coastline, 290 estuaries and high levels of biodiversity provide an outdoor laboratory for studies on microalgae and macrophytes. The history of botanical research on estuaries is presented, focusing on studies of primary producers, highlighting progress made since 2016. Published articles were organised in seven categories representing the dominant primary producers in estuaries. Research priorities were identified for each category based on the systematic review of literature from 2017 to January 2025, complemented by expert input on emerging trends and knowledge gaps. Invasive alien aquatic plants and forested wetlands (swamp forest) are emerging research themes. Early studies focussed on autecology and ecophysiology. More recently, research has addressed ecological status, drivers of biodiversity, provision of ecosystem services, responses to climate change and the restoration and management of Blue Carbon Ecosystems. Since 2016, 212 articles have been published on these emerging themes. In South Africa, we have a good understanding of primary producers as indicators of water quality changes in estuaries. Research has informed the implementation of Estuary Management Plans and the National Water Act, which guides estuary environmental flow requirements. Taxonomic studies on salt marsh plants to inform the National Biodiversity Assessment and using artificial intelligence and automation to provide real time monitoring of priority systems were identified as knowledge gaps. We have long term monitoring sites to measure responses to sea level rise, and to measure the growth and survival of mangroves across biogeographic zones. However, a growing concern is personal safety and security that impacts field work, constraining ecological research and the maintenance of long-term datasets that are needed to track future responses to global pressures. We are well positioned to inform global research and policy agendas such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework that aims to expand protection and restoration of coastal ecosystems to 30 % by 2030.