Gubela Mji
Biographic Data
| ID | 137830 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Gubela Mji |
| GIVEN NAMES | Gubela |
| FAMILY NAME | Mji |
| SIGNATURE | MJI G |
| AFFILIATIONS | Stellenbosch University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6477-4123 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 22 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 8 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 22 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2011 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Understanding the value of rehabilitation: Perspectives from South African Stakeholders
We highlight priority areas that are central to the value of rehabilitation in South Africa and other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Tailoring rehabilitation services to patient and community needs is crucial for achieving value-based care. Given South Africa's commitment to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, prioritising rehabilitation remains essential
Disability research in African Network for Evidence-to-Action in Disability affiliated countries
The desktop exploration is a first step for AfriNEAD to get a baseline understanding of published disability research in the countries affiliated to the network. Further research is required to understand these trends and to provide evidence necessary to address the identified gaps
The Rehabilitation Landscape in a Low-to-Middle-Income Country: Stakeholder Perspectives and Policy Implications—A Qualitative Study
The need for rehabilitation is increasing on a global level due to a rise in non-communicable diseases, aging and medical advances, and in South Africa (SA), due to the quadruple burden of disease. More information is required regarding rehabilitation scope and practices in SA to optimize the provision of rehabilitation interventions in the context of the transforming health care sector in SA, a low-to-middle-income country (LMIC). The purpose of…
Encouraging reciprocal healthcare practice within a South African Indigenous community
This article is informed by an outcome from a doctoral study that explored spirituality and collective wellbeing within Indigenous and Western healthcare practices in an Indigenous South African community. The study context consists of four communities in rural Bomvanaland, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The study is qualitative, utilising an ethnographic case study approach, with n = 52 participants. A two-level thematic, analytical strate…
Expressing social justice within Indigenous research: A reflection on process and affirmation
In this article, we reflect on the process of the implementation of enacted social justice through the concepts of conscious affirmation and informed compassion, within the methodological processes utilized when carrying out a qualitative research study in a South African Indigenous community. The enactment of social justice during the study conceptualization and implementation process is evidenced by ensuring the conformity of the research proce…
Framing wellbeing through spirituality, space, history, and context: Lessons from an indigenous African community
This article is informed by one of the outcomes of a PhD study which explored an understanding of spirituality that informs wellbeing within four indigenous South African contexts. Literatures on the negative impact of the historical subjugation of African indigenous understanding of spirituality and beingness abound. However, there is a paucity of literature focused on the spaces of transition created by this subjugation of African indigenous sp…
The black hole of dealing with a disability diagnosis: Views of South African rural parents
Caring for children with disability in a rural setting where services are minimal or not available to the poorest people who mostly need such services is not easy. Thus, to respond appropriately to the health and support needs of children with disability, it is crucial to understand the social context and needs of their families and caregivers. Due to size of the study, findings cannot be generalised. Recommendations are made for further studies …
Access to primary care for persons with spinal cord injuries in the greater Gaborone area, Botswana
Primary care services were mostly affordable and adequate. Availability, acceptability and accessibility aspects created barriers
The African Indigenous Lens of Understanding Spirituality: Reflection on Key Emerging Concepts from a Reviewed Literature
Lessons from the pilot of a mobile application to map assistive technology suppliers in Africa
A pilot project to develop and implement a mobile smartphone application (App) that tracks and maps assistive technology (AT) availability in southern Africa was launched in Botswana in 2016. The App was developed and tested through an iterative process. The concept of the App (AT-Info-Map) was well received by most stakeholders within the pilot country, and broader networks. Several technical and logistical obstacles were encountered. These incl…
The experiences and challenges faced by rehabilitation community service therapists within the South African Primary Healthcare health system
Advocating for a rehabilitation service package to shift to community-based levels is critical. It is envisaged that a community-based approach will facilitate an understanding of the barriers faced by persons with disabilities as constituting disability, thus facilitating learning about the disabling consequences of the rural environment coupled with the system as experienced by persons with disabilities
Promoting good policy for leadership and governance of health related rehabilitation: A realist synthesis
BACKGROUND: Good governance may result in strengthened performance of a health system. Coherent policies are essential for good health system governance. The overall aim of this research is to provide the best available scientific evidence on principles of good policy related leadership and governance of health related rehabilitation services in less resourced settings. This research was also conducted to support development of the World Health O…
Beyond the checklist: Understanding rural health vulnerability in a South African context
BACKGROUND: Vulnerability in the past has sometimes been measured and understood in terms of checklists or common understanding. It is argued here that vulnerability is a more complex issue than this. Although checklists of vulnerable groups are important, they do not capture the essence and dynamics of vulnerability. OBJECTIVE: The case of rural health vulnerability in South Africa is discussed to show that classifying people into vulnerable gro…
‘You must carry your wheelchair’ – barriers to accessing healthcare in a South African rural area
BACKGROUND: There is international evidence that people with disabilities face barriers when accessing primary healthcare services and that there is inadequate information about effective interventions that work to improve the lives of people with disabilities, especially in low-income and middle-income countries. Poor rural residents generally experience barriers to accessing primary healthcare, and these problems are further exacerbated for peo…
Experiences of patients and service providers with out-patient rehabilitation services in a rehabilitation centre in the Western Cape Province
The experiences expressed highlighted the need to improve rehabilitation services in terms of increasing the capacity of service providers and providing transport services for persons with disabilities
The African Network for Evidence-to-Action on Disability: A role player in the realisation of the UNCRPD in Africa
This African Journal of Disability supplement focuses on papers presented at the third AfriNEAD Symposium in 2011. In this closing editorial, we want to give an overview of the rationale and major modes of operation of the African Network for Evidence-to-Action on Disability (AfriNEAD) with special focus on recommendations made at the 2011 AfriNEAD Symposium. AfriNEAD is guided and informed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Person…
Learning from doing the EquitAble project: Content, context, process, and impact of a multi-country research project on vulnerable populations in Africa
We identified contextual and process learning points, factors often not discussed in papers, which typically focus on the reporting of the 'content' of results
With or without us? An audit of disability research in the southern African region
The conclusion highlights critical issues for future research in the region, and considers how a disability researcher database can be used as a tool for disability organisations to prioritise research that serves a disability rights agenda
African indigenous knowledge and research
This paper seeks to heighten awareness about the need to include indigenous knowledge in the design and implementation of research, particularly disability research, in Africa. It affirms the suitability of the Afrocentric paradigm in African research and argues the necessity for an emancipatory and participatory type of research which values and includes indigenous knowledge and peoples. In the predominantly Western-oriented academic circles and…
On the ethics of being photographed in research in rural South Africa: Views of people with disabilities
Disabled people have long been misrepresented through photography and freak shows. A key challenge in the representation of disabled people is not only how to avoid histories of exclusion and hiding, but also to present the lives of people with disabilities in an empathic rather than an othering manner. We asked disabled people from a rural village in South Africa about the potential negative effects and the benefits of having their photographs t…
Accessing community health services: Challenges faced by poor people with disabilities in a rural community in South Africa
Poor people with disabilities who live in poor rural societies experience unique problems in accessing health services. Their situation is influenced by multiple factors which unfold and interplay throughout the person's life course. The difficulties do not only affect the person with a disability and his or her family, but also impact on the relevant care unit. The barriers are rooted in a life in poverty, upheld and maintained by poverty-reinfo…
An African way of networking around disability
There is a relative paucity of disability-related research emanating from low and middle income countries. We report here on the successes and challenges of AfriNEAD (the African Network on Evidence to Action on Disability), a recently formed network that brings together researchers, activists and other role-players in attempting to develop and support disability-related research in Africa. We introduce the African concept of ubuntu (humanness) a…
An African way of networking around disability
There is a relative paucity of disability-related research emanating from low and middle income countries. We report here on the successes and challenges of AfriNEAD (the African Network on Evidence to Action on Disability), a recently formed network that brings together researchers, activists and other role-players in attempting to develop and support disability-related research in Africa. We introduce the African concept of ubuntu (humanness) a…
On the ethics of being photographed in research in rural South Africa: Views of people with disabilities
Disabled people have long been misrepresented through photography and freak shows. A key challenge in the representation of disabled people is not only how to avoid histories of exclusion and hiding, but also to present the lives of people with disabilities in an empathic rather than an othering manner. We asked disabled people from a rural village in South Africa about the potential negative effects and the benefits of having their photographs t…
An African way of networking around disability
There is a relative paucity of disability-related research emanating from low and middle income countries. We report here on the successes and challenges of AfriNEAD (the African Network on Evidence to Action on Disability), a recently formed network that brings together researchers, activists and other role-players in attempting to develop and support disability-related research in Africa. We introduce the African concept of ubuntu (humanness) a…
Accessing community health services: Challenges faced by poor people with disabilities in a rural community in South Africa
Poor people with disabilities who live in poor rural societies experience unique problems in accessing health services. Their situation is influenced by multiple factors which unfold and interplay throughout the person's life course. The difficulties do not only affect the person with a disability and his or her family, but also impact on the relevant care unit. The barriers are rooted in a life in poverty, upheld and maintained by poverty-reinfo…
African indigenous knowledge and research
This paper seeks to heighten awareness about the need to include indigenous knowledge in the design and implementation of research, particularly disability research, in Africa. It affirms the suitability of the Afrocentric paradigm in African research and argues the necessity for an emancipatory and participatory type of research which values and includes indigenous knowledge and peoples. In the predominantly Western-oriented academic circles and…
On the ethics of being photographed in research in rural South Africa: Views of people with disabilities
Disabled people have long been misrepresented through photography and freak shows. A key challenge in the representation of disabled people is not only how to avoid histories of exclusion and hiding, but also to present the lives of people with disabilities in an empathic rather than an othering manner. We asked disabled people from a rural village in South Africa about the potential negative effects and the benefits of having their photographs t…
The African Network for Evidence-to-Action on Disability: A role player in the realisation of the UNCRPD in Africa
This African Journal of Disability supplement focuses on papers presented at the third AfriNEAD Symposium in 2011. In this closing editorial, we want to give an overview of the rationale and major modes of operation of the African Network for Evidence-to-Action on Disability (AfriNEAD) with special focus on recommendations made at the 2011 AfriNEAD Symposium. AfriNEAD is guided and informed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Person…
Learning from doing the EquitAble project: Content, context, process, and impact of a multi-country research project on vulnerable populations in Africa
We identified contextual and process learning points, factors often not discussed in papers, which typically focus on the reporting of the 'content' of results
With or without us? An audit of disability research in the southern African region
The conclusion highlights critical issues for future research in the region, and considers how a disability researcher database can be used as a tool for disability organisations to prioritise research that serves a disability rights agenda
‘You must carry your wheelchair’ – barriers to accessing healthcare in a South African rural area
BACKGROUND: There is international evidence that people with disabilities face barriers when accessing primary healthcare services and that there is inadequate information about effective interventions that work to improve the lives of people with disabilities, especially in low-income and middle-income countries. Poor rural residents generally experience barriers to accessing primary healthcare, and these problems are further exacerbated for peo…
Experiences of patients and service providers with out-patient rehabilitation services in a rehabilitation centre in the Western Cape Province
The experiences expressed highlighted the need to improve rehabilitation services in terms of increasing the capacity of service providers and providing transport services for persons with disabilities
Promoting good policy for leadership and governance of health related rehabilitation: A realist synthesis
BACKGROUND: Good governance may result in strengthened performance of a health system. Coherent policies are essential for good health system governance. The overall aim of this research is to provide the best available scientific evidence on principles of good policy related leadership and governance of health related rehabilitation services in less resourced settings. This research was also conducted to support development of the World Health O…
Beyond the checklist: Understanding rural health vulnerability in a South African context
BACKGROUND: Vulnerability in the past has sometimes been measured and understood in terms of checklists or common understanding. It is argued here that vulnerability is a more complex issue than this. Although checklists of vulnerable groups are important, they do not capture the essence and dynamics of vulnerability. OBJECTIVE: The case of rural health vulnerability in South Africa is discussed to show that classifying people into vulnerable gro…
The experiences and challenges faced by rehabilitation community service therapists within the South African Primary Healthcare health system
Advocating for a rehabilitation service package to shift to community-based levels is critical. It is envisaged that a community-based approach will facilitate an understanding of the barriers faced by persons with disabilities as constituting disability, thus facilitating learning about the disabling consequences of the rural environment coupled with the system as experienced by persons with disabilities
The African Indigenous Lens of Understanding Spirituality: Reflection on Key Emerging Concepts from a Reviewed Literature
Lessons from the pilot of a mobile application to map assistive technology suppliers in Africa
A pilot project to develop and implement a mobile smartphone application (App) that tracks and maps assistive technology (AT) availability in southern Africa was launched in Botswana in 2016. The App was developed and tested through an iterative process. The concept of the App (AT-Info-Map) was well received by most stakeholders within the pilot country, and broader networks. Several technical and logistical obstacles were encountered. These incl…
Access to primary care for persons with spinal cord injuries in the greater Gaborone area, Botswana
Primary care services were mostly affordable and adequate. Availability, acceptability and accessibility aspects created barriers
Expressing social justice within Indigenous research: A reflection on process and affirmation
In this article, we reflect on the process of the implementation of enacted social justice through the concepts of conscious affirmation and informed compassion, within the methodological processes utilized when carrying out a qualitative research study in a South African Indigenous community. The enactment of social justice during the study conceptualization and implementation process is evidenced by ensuring the conformity of the research proce…
Framing wellbeing through spirituality, space, history, and context: Lessons from an indigenous African community
This article is informed by one of the outcomes of a PhD study which explored an understanding of spirituality that informs wellbeing within four indigenous South African contexts. Literatures on the negative impact of the historical subjugation of African indigenous understanding of spirituality and beingness abound. However, there is a paucity of literature focused on the spaces of transition created by this subjugation of African indigenous sp…
The black hole of dealing with a disability diagnosis: Views of South African rural parents
Caring for children with disability in a rural setting where services are minimal or not available to the poorest people who mostly need such services is not easy. Thus, to respond appropriately to the health and support needs of children with disability, it is crucial to understand the social context and needs of their families and caregivers. Due to size of the study, findings cannot be generalised. Recommendations are made for further studies …
Encouraging reciprocal healthcare practice within a South African Indigenous community
This article is informed by an outcome from a doctoral study that explored spirituality and collective wellbeing within Indigenous and Western healthcare practices in an Indigenous South African community. The study context consists of four communities in rural Bomvanaland, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The study is qualitative, utilising an ethnographic case study approach, with n = 52 participants. A two-level thematic, analytical strate…
Understanding the value of rehabilitation: Perspectives from South African Stakeholders
We highlight priority areas that are central to the value of rehabilitation in South Africa and other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Tailoring rehabilitation services to patient and community needs is crucial for achieving value-based care. Given South Africa's commitment to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, prioritising rehabilitation remains essential
Disability research in African Network for Evidence-to-Action in Disability affiliated countries
The desktop exploration is a first step for AfriNEAD to get a baseline understanding of published disability research in the countries affiliated to the network. Further research is required to understand these trends and to provide evidence necessary to address the identified gaps
The Rehabilitation Landscape in a Low-to-Middle-Income Country: Stakeholder Perspectives and Policy Implications—A Qualitative Study
The need for rehabilitation is increasing on a global level due to a rise in non-communicable diseases, aging and medical advances, and in South Africa (SA), due to the quadruple burden of disease. More information is required regarding rehabilitation scope and practices in SA to optimize the provision of rehabilitation interventions in the context of the transforming health care sector in SA, a low-to-middle-income country (LMIC). The purpose of…
Political science (18 works) · Sociology (15 works) · Medicine (12 works) · Psychology (11 works) · Public relations (11 works) · Business (9 works) · Health care (8 works) · Nursing (8 works) · Disability Rights and Representation (7 works) · Geography (7 works)