The prestigious Africa-Oxford (AfOx) Initiative Catalyst Grant was recently awarded to fund a novel research collaboration between researchers at the Department of Health Professions Education (DHPE) at Stellenbosch University (SU) and the University of Oxford.
The core research team includes Prof Elize Archer of SU, Prof Lucy Bowes of the University of Oxford and Dr Nabeela Kajee, an alumna of SU's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS).
“It is a great honour that the AfOx Grant has chosen to fund our research collaboration in health professions' education," says Kajee, who is currently completing a DPhil in psychiatry at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. So far, 250 of the AfOx grants have been awarded over the years to fund collaborations between researchers from more than 100 African institutions and over 50 University of Oxford departments.
Kajee explains that research on secular mindfulness – defined by Professor Jon Kabat-Zinn as “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment"1 – is becoming increasingly important because of the attentional demands and mental health needs of the health professions.
However, she adds: “While mindfulness-based interventions are increasingly being studied internationally, there is quite a shortage of research in African contexts as compared to international settings. This is especially the case in the areas we are interested in exploring regarding the impact on clinical communication."
Archer, the head of the Simulation and Clinical Skills Unit (SCSU) at the DHPE, is a co-principal investigator in the AfOx research project on mindfulness. She emphasises that it is not a soft skill: “Mindfulness has a significant evidence base in various areas of mental health, and it is important that we start to explore and understand the use of such an intervention in our context."
She points out: “Students need meta-cognitive skills in order to be empathetic or patient-centred communicators in the clinical environment."
Kajee elaborates: “We are looking at using Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training interventions in medical students at SU. We are interested in understanding the acceptability and feasibility of these interventions."
She credits Kabat-Zinn, a former professor of medicine in the United States, as being a pioneer of mindfulness-based interventions in the West, and says he adapted it from its origins in non-secular environments such as Buddhist teachings in the East: “Today, it can be used across any group, religious or cultural background."
These interventions have been used in a wide range of groups, including surgeons, sportsmen and -women and the military. “It has often been used in individuals with high-demand jobs," says Kajee. “The use of mindfulness-based interventions has been driven by research in the mental health effects studied."
Bowes, the third co-principal investigator of the project, is a professor of developmental psychopathology at the University of Oxford's Department of Experimental Psychology. Other collaborators are Stellenbosch University's Department of Psychiatry Head Prof Soraya Seedat and lecturer Dr Clayton Arendse, University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business senior lecturer Dr Linda Kantor and Stellenbosch University's Dr Innocent Maposa of the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics.
Archer, Bowes and Kajee are currently preparing to undertake the feasibility study. As a Rhodes Scholar, Kajee is grateful that the AfOx grant allows her and the team to complete this collaborative fieldwork for the project in South Africa.
“That really means a lot to me," she says. “Although the legacy of Cecil John Rhodes carries with it complex historical injustice and oppression, to be able to have a redemption of this money – for the necessary resources and research to come home, so to speak – feels really wonderful."
As an interdisciplinary research study, the team is enthusiastic that this research might fuel further collaborative efforts and funding across the FMHS. “We are at our best when we can join hands to fill the necessary research gaps," says Kajee.
Caption: Prof Elize Archer, Dr Nabeela Kajee and Dr Innocent Maposa.
Reference:
- Kabat-Zinn, J (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10(2), 144–156. https://doi.org/10.1093/clipsy.bpg016
