Jennifer Watermeyer
Biographic Data
| ID | 1093040 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jennifer Watermeyer |
| GIVEN NAMES | Jennifer |
| FAMILY NAME | Watermeyer |
| SIGNATURE | WATERMEYER J |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of the Witwatersrand |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-7918-8832 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 25 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 18 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 25 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Adolescent readiness for mobile mental health support in Soweto
Poor mental health is a growing issue among adolescents, with untreated conditions persisting into adulthood and typically increasing in severity. South Africa's mental health legislation faces key barriers to implementation due to limited access to treatment and support, as well as persistent challenges related to stigma, privacy concerns and affordability. Mobile mental health (M-mHealth) could be a sustainable and scalable alternative for redu…
Unlocking the Potential of an Adapted Extended Pillar Integration Process
As evaluation methodologies evolve, there is increasing emphasis on understanding not only whether a programme works but also how and why its outcomes are achieved. Yet existing literature offers limited guidance on integrating multiple qualitative and quantitative data sets. This article introduces the Adapted Extended Pillar Integration Process (Adapted ePIP) as a structured approach for integrating complex mixed methods data. Using an evaluati…
Simple Solutions for Complex Problems
Background Mental health challenges are among the most critical health issues facing young people in low‐ and middle‐income countries, but with limited resources. Nearly half of adult mental health conditions begin by age 14, making adolescence a critical period for mental health promotion and intervention. Mobile mental health (M‐mHealth) interventions have been promoted as sustainable and scalable in terms of reach and impact. Research on adole…
Where Trouble Starts
Emergency calls require efficient communication between caller and call taker to establish a need for assistance and dispatch help quickly. Analyzing communication processes at this first link in the emergency medical care chain has important implications for improving the quality of emergency care across the health system. This paper examines an interaction between a call taker and a caller requesting assistance at the scene of a family murder, …
Modifications to consent documentation with adults with communication disorders following brain injury
Consent documentation for research studies is often inaccessible to people with neurogenic communication disorders following brain injury and there is limited literature on specific modifications for informed consent. This exploratory study aimed to identify effective strategies and modifications to consent processes for adults with brain injury. Using a fictitious research study, we developed a set of Participant Information Sheets (PISs) varyin…
Loadshedding, safety concerns, and mental health in South Africa
Persistent power cuts, known as loadshedding, have become a disruptive fixture in South African daily life, affecting routines and economic stability. In this commentary, we argue that much attention has been given to the economic impact and political ramifications linked to loadshedding, but its psychological toll on the population has been largely overlooked. Access to electricity must be regarded as a basic human right as it is closely linked …
We are just not sure what that means or if it's relevant
The development and use of adolescent mobile mental health (m-mhealth) interventions in low- and middle-income countries
Adult mental health challenges frequently stem from undiagnosed poor mental health earlier in life. With increasing levels of poor adolescent mental health and insufficient health care resources in low- and middle-income countries, mobile mental health may offer expanded service access. Little is known about mobile mental health interventions for adolescents in low- and middle-income countries. Our aim was to review the literature on mobile menta…
A meta-ethnography on the experience and psychosocial implications of providing abortion care
National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic
Changing collective behaviour and supporting non-pharmaceutical interventions is an important component in mitigating virus transmission during a pandemic. In a large international collaboration (Study 1, N = 49,968 across 67 countries), we investigated self-reported factors associated with public health behaviours (e.g., spatial distancing and stricter hygiene) and endorsed public policy interventions (e.g., closing bars and restaurants) during …
Predicting attitudinal and behavioral responses to Covid-19 pandemic using machine learning
At the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 became a global problem. Despite all the efforts to emphasize the relevance of preventive measures, not everyone adhered to them. Thus, learning more about the characteristics determining attitudinal and behavioral responses to the pandemic is crucial to improving future interventions. In this study, we applied machine learning on the multi-national data collected by the International Collaboration on the Social…
To trust or not to trust
As South Africa debates the implementation of mandatory vaccination policies to address coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine hesitancy, many adults remain unpersuaded of the need and benefits of vaccination. Several surveys suggest that this is particularly true for younger adults and for those living in low-income communities. Therefore, we sought the views of youth training to become community health workers (CHWs) as a youth group at th…
Medical Terminology in Intercultural Health Interactions
The terminology and jargon used in medical interactions can pose particular challenges to understanding for patients, healthcare providers, and mediators in cases where a language barrier is present. Common medical words used in the interactional space may mean different things to each party present. This study focuses on 79 mediated and nonmediated South African and Italian recorded healthcare interactions in which a language barrier was present…
Complexities in interdisciplinary community engagement projects
There is a growing interest in using drama techniques and theatrical performance to disseminate health information to lay audiences as part of community engagement projects. This process can be challenging for a number of reasons, however. In this paper, we describe the process and pitfalls of an interdisciplinary project involving the development and performance of a play about diabetes mellitus. The play formed part of a long-term, three-way co…
Video‐recording complex health interactions in a diverse setting
Video‐recording healthcare interactions provides important opportunities for research and service improvement. However, this method brings about tensions, especially when recording sensitive topics. Subsequent reflection may compel the researcher to engage in ethical and moral deliberations. This paper presents experiences from a South African genetic counselling study which made use of video‐recordings to understand communicative processes in ro…
Perceived challenges in the informed consent process
Enrollers play a critical yet often overlooked role in clinical research, particularly in informed consent processes. Study retention may depend in part on how complex information is conveyed to potential participants. This qualitative study aimed to assess communicative barriers during consent and enrolment in two South African TB / HIV clinical studies. In particular, we compared our own perceptions of potential challenges to consent with that …
Communicating Across Cultures and Languages in the Health Care Setting
This book offers a novel approach to understanding the complexities of communication in culturally and linguistically diverse health care contexts. It marks the culmination of two decades of research
Opt‐in or opt‐out to increase organ donation in South Africa? Appraising proposed strategies using an empirical ethics analysis
Utilising empirical ethics analysis, we evaluate the merits of systems proposed to increase deceased organ donation in South Africa ( SA ). We conclude that SA should maintain its soft opt‐in policy, and enhance it with ‘required transplant referral’ in order to maximise donor numbers within an ethically and legally acceptable framework. In SA , as is the case worldwide, the demand for donor organs far exceeds the supply thereof. Currently utilis…
Community perspectives on tuberculosis care in rural South Africa
Patient nonadherence to tuberculosis (TB) treatment is an ongoing challenge, particularly since the advent of drug-resistant TB and complications posed by HIV/AIDS. Some solutions may lie in understanding patient and community perspectives about barriers to TB care and treatment adherence. Using a qualitative framework, we explored community perceptions and beliefs about TB and perceived facilitators and barriers to care in a rural South African …
Managing language mismatches in emergency calls
The complex linguistic profile of South Africa has the potential to limit the efficiency of emergency calls. Emergency services depend on rapid resolution of a call, dispatch of an ambulance and response at scene. Resolving language mismatches is a critical feature of everyday practice in such a setting. This study examined accommodation to language shifts in a call centre using conversation analysis methods. Three main call trajectories were ide…
Local expertise and landmarks in place reformulations during emergency medical calls
‘Are we allowed to disclose?’
BACKGROUND: Talking with a child about their HIV status is a complex, emotionally laden and difficult task for caregivers and healthcare providers. Disclosure is an important process which may have psychosocial and health benefits. Despite existing guidelines and materials, disclosure does not always happen for various reasons. OBJECTIVE: This qualitative study explored a healthcare team's perspectives and experiences about disclosure practices. …
“Now here come the pills that are going to save your life”
HIV/AIDS has associated cultural and social meanings which shape communication. The disease is closely linked to the concepts of life and death. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has brought hope and life, but its success is heavily dependent on strict adherence. Research has shown that patients and health professionals often find it difficult to talk about these topics. However, there is little research available which focuses on health professionals…
The organization of pharmacist-patient interactions in an HIV/Aids clinic
“They Take Positive People”
South Africa is a multilingual, multicultural context that poses communication challenges to health professionals. In a clinical trial, information must be thoroughly understood by participants in order for consent to be informed. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. This pilot study aimed to identify communication successes and breakdowns in informed consent sessions in an HIV vaccine trial. Two recorded consent sessions were analyzed usi…
Local expertise and landmarks in place reformulations during emergency medical calls
Managing language mismatches in emergency calls
The complex linguistic profile of South Africa has the potential to limit the efficiency of emergency calls. Emergency services depend on rapid resolution of a call, dispatch of an ambulance and response at scene. Resolving language mismatches is a critical feature of everyday practice in such a setting. This study examined accommodation to language shifts in a call centre using conversation analysis methods. Three main call trajectories were ide…
The organization of pharmacist-patient interactions in an HIV/Aids clinic
A meta-ethnography on the experience and psychosocial implications of providing abortion care
Loadshedding, safety concerns, and mental health in South Africa
Persistent power cuts, known as loadshedding, have become a disruptive fixture in South African daily life, affecting routines and economic stability. In this commentary, we argue that much attention has been given to the economic impact and political ramifications linked to loadshedding, but its psychological toll on the population has been largely overlooked. Access to electricity must be regarded as a basic human right as it is closely linked …
Community perspectives on tuberculosis care in rural South Africa
Patient nonadherence to tuberculosis (TB) treatment is an ongoing challenge, particularly since the advent of drug-resistant TB and complications posed by HIV/AIDS. Some solutions may lie in understanding patient and community perspectives about barriers to TB care and treatment adherence. Using a qualitative framework, we explored community perceptions and beliefs about TB and perceived facilitators and barriers to care in a rural South African …
“They Take Positive People”
South Africa is a multilingual, multicultural context that poses communication challenges to health professionals. In a clinical trial, information must be thoroughly understood by participants in order for consent to be informed. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. This pilot study aimed to identify communication successes and breakdowns in informed consent sessions in an HIV vaccine trial. Two recorded consent sessions were analyzed usi…
The organization of pharmacist-patient interactions in an HIV/Aids clinic
“Now here come the pills that are going to save your life”
HIV/AIDS has associated cultural and social meanings which shape communication. The disease is closely linked to the concepts of life and death. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has brought hope and life, but its success is heavily dependent on strict adherence. Research has shown that patients and health professionals often find it difficult to talk about these topics. However, there is little research available which focuses on health professionals…
‘Are we allowed to disclose?’
BACKGROUND: Talking with a child about their HIV status is a complex, emotionally laden and difficult task for caregivers and healthcare providers. Disclosure is an important process which may have psychosocial and health benefits. Despite existing guidelines and materials, disclosure does not always happen for various reasons. OBJECTIVE: This qualitative study explored a healthcare team's perspectives and experiences about disclosure practices. …
Managing language mismatches in emergency calls
The complex linguistic profile of South Africa has the potential to limit the efficiency of emergency calls. Emergency services depend on rapid resolution of a call, dispatch of an ambulance and response at scene. Resolving language mismatches is a critical feature of everyday practice in such a setting. This study examined accommodation to language shifts in a call centre using conversation analysis methods. Three main call trajectories were ide…
Local expertise and landmarks in place reformulations during emergency medical calls
Communicating Across Cultures and Languages in the Health Care Setting
This book offers a novel approach to understanding the complexities of communication in culturally and linguistically diverse health care contexts. It marks the culmination of two decades of research
Opt‐in or opt‐out to increase organ donation in South Africa? Appraising proposed strategies using an empirical ethics analysis
Utilising empirical ethics analysis, we evaluate the merits of systems proposed to increase deceased organ donation in South Africa ( SA ). We conclude that SA should maintain its soft opt‐in policy, and enhance it with ‘required transplant referral’ in order to maximise donor numbers within an ethically and legally acceptable framework. In SA , as is the case worldwide, the demand for donor organs far exceeds the supply thereof. Currently utilis…
Community perspectives on tuberculosis care in rural South Africa
Patient nonadherence to tuberculosis (TB) treatment is an ongoing challenge, particularly since the advent of drug-resistant TB and complications posed by HIV/AIDS. Some solutions may lie in understanding patient and community perspectives about barriers to TB care and treatment adherence. Using a qualitative framework, we explored community perceptions and beliefs about TB and perceived facilitators and barriers to care in a rural South African …
Perceived challenges in the informed consent process
Enrollers play a critical yet often overlooked role in clinical research, particularly in informed consent processes. Study retention may depend in part on how complex information is conveyed to potential participants. This qualitative study aimed to assess communicative barriers during consent and enrolment in two South African TB / HIV clinical studies. In particular, we compared our own perceptions of potential challenges to consent with that …
Video‐recording complex health interactions in a diverse setting
Video‐recording healthcare interactions provides important opportunities for research and service improvement. However, this method brings about tensions, especially when recording sensitive topics. Subsequent reflection may compel the researcher to engage in ethical and moral deliberations. This paper presents experiences from a South African genetic counselling study which made use of video‐recordings to understand communicative processes in ro…
Medical Terminology in Intercultural Health Interactions
The terminology and jargon used in medical interactions can pose particular challenges to understanding for patients, healthcare providers, and mediators in cases where a language barrier is present. Common medical words used in the interactional space may mean different things to each party present. This study focuses on 79 mediated and nonmediated South African and Italian recorded healthcare interactions in which a language barrier was present…
Complexities in interdisciplinary community engagement projects
There is a growing interest in using drama techniques and theatrical performance to disseminate health information to lay audiences as part of community engagement projects. This process can be challenging for a number of reasons, however. In this paper, we describe the process and pitfalls of an interdisciplinary project involving the development and performance of a play about diabetes mellitus. The play formed part of a long-term, three-way co…
National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic
Changing collective behaviour and supporting non-pharmaceutical interventions is an important component in mitigating virus transmission during a pandemic. In a large international collaboration (Study 1, N = 49,968 across 67 countries), we investigated self-reported factors associated with public health behaviours (e.g., spatial distancing and stricter hygiene) and endorsed public policy interventions (e.g., closing bars and restaurants) during …
Predicting attitudinal and behavioral responses to Covid-19 pandemic using machine learning
At the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 became a global problem. Despite all the efforts to emphasize the relevance of preventive measures, not everyone adhered to them. Thus, learning more about the characteristics determining attitudinal and behavioral responses to the pandemic is crucial to improving future interventions. In this study, we applied machine learning on the multi-national data collected by the International Collaboration on the Social…
To trust or not to trust
As South Africa debates the implementation of mandatory vaccination policies to address coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine hesitancy, many adults remain unpersuaded of the need and benefits of vaccination. Several surveys suggest that this is particularly true for younger adults and for those living in low-income communities. Therefore, we sought the views of youth training to become community health workers (CHWs) as a youth group at th…
The development and use of adolescent mobile mental health (m-mhealth) interventions in low- and middle-income countries
Adult mental health challenges frequently stem from undiagnosed poor mental health earlier in life. With increasing levels of poor adolescent mental health and insufficient health care resources in low- and middle-income countries, mobile mental health may offer expanded service access. Little is known about mobile mental health interventions for adolescents in low- and middle-income countries. Our aim was to review the literature on mobile menta…
A meta-ethnography on the experience and psychosocial implications of providing abortion care
Loadshedding, safety concerns, and mental health in South Africa
Persistent power cuts, known as loadshedding, have become a disruptive fixture in South African daily life, affecting routines and economic stability. In this commentary, we argue that much attention has been given to the economic impact and political ramifications linked to loadshedding, but its psychological toll on the population has been largely overlooked. Access to electricity must be regarded as a basic human right as it is closely linked …
We are just not sure what that means or if it's relevant
Where Trouble Starts
Emergency calls require efficient communication between caller and call taker to establish a need for assistance and dispatch help quickly. Analyzing communication processes at this first link in the emergency medical care chain has important implications for improving the quality of emergency care across the health system. This paper examines an interaction between a call taker and a caller requesting assistance at the scene of a family murder, …
Modifications to consent documentation with adults with communication disorders following brain injury
Consent documentation for research studies is often inaccessible to people with neurogenic communication disorders following brain injury and there is limited literature on specific modifications for informed consent. This exploratory study aimed to identify effective strategies and modifications to consent processes for adults with brain injury. Using a fictitious research study, we developed a set of Participant Information Sheets (PISs) varyin…
Adolescent readiness for mobile mental health support in Soweto
Poor mental health is a growing issue among adolescents, with untreated conditions persisting into adulthood and typically increasing in severity. South Africa's mental health legislation faces key barriers to implementation due to limited access to treatment and support, as well as persistent challenges related to stigma, privacy concerns and affordability. Mobile mental health (M-mHealth) could be a sustainable and scalable alternative for redu…
Unlocking the Potential of an Adapted Extended Pillar Integration Process
As evaluation methodologies evolve, there is increasing emphasis on understanding not only whether a programme works but also how and why its outcomes are achieved. Yet existing literature offers limited guidance on integrating multiple qualitative and quantitative data sets. This article introduces the Adapted Extended Pillar Integration Process (Adapted ePIP) as a structured approach for integrating complex mixed methods data. Using an evaluati…
Simple Solutions for Complex Problems
Background Mental health challenges are among the most critical health issues facing young people in low‐ and middle‐income countries, but with limited resources. Nearly half of adult mental health conditions begin by age 14, making adolescence a critical period for mental health promotion and intervention. Mobile mental health (M‐mHealth) interventions have been promoted as sustainable and scalable in terms of reach and impact. Research on adole…
Medicine (17 works) · Psychology (15 works) · Political science (13 works) · Computer Science (10 works) · Health care (9 works) · Nursing (8 works) · Psychiatry (7 works) · Qualitative research (7 works) · Sociology (7 works) · Interpreting and Communication in Healthcare (6 works)