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17 November 2021 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied
Dr Julia Mafumo believes the relationship between health-care workers and the community is important. If the health-care practitioners are competent and compassionate, morbidity and mortality could be lessened, as services will be utilised where monitoring and early diagnosis are done.
“Nursing is regarded as one of the pillar professions in the health-care system and it is important that this service is accessible. The community needs to trust the health-care system enough to make use of it,” says Dr Julia Mafumo, Lecturer in the Department of Advanced Nursing Science at the University of Venda (Univen).

She believes that the University Staff Development Programme (USDP) is not only an opportunity for personal development, but that it will equip her to contribute to making health care accessible to every person who needs it. 

Dr Mafumo was selected as one of the ten candidates in the USDP, administered by the University of the Free State Office for International Affairs. The project provides funding for clinicians in global health to achieve a PhD qualification.

Univen has a track record of developing academics who are competent to address global health challenges. In more than a decade of collaboration with the University of Virginia in the United States, these universities have successfully developed global health researchers, some of whom are internationally renowned scientists today.

“Besides networking with personnel from other institutions and learning from them, the USDP is a chance to receive mentorship from academics with a strong international leadership pedigree in global health. The personnel in the programme supported me throughout my academic journey.”

“Being nominated for the staff development programme came as a blessing to me and I am very grateful for the opportunity,” says Dr Mafumo, who shares in an interview what the USDP programme meant to her. 

How has your background shaped the life and academic path that you have chosen?

I have always dreamt of pursuing a career in which I have the chance to share knowledge and information. When the University of Venda employed me, I took it as an opportunity to do just that.

My fulfilment comes from seeing a student who is competent and who can share the acquired knowledge and skills with the community at large.

What drew you to the USDP project’s call? 

The financial support in the programme gave me the opportunity to tend to my research activities. Going to the University of Virginia in February 2020 gave me the opportunity to make friends, but also to attend data analysis and management workshops, which were helpful for my studies.

The university is well established and has many resources that we don’t have. 

Please tell us more about your research 

As a lecturer in the Department of Advanced Nursing Science, I felt that I had an obligation to ensure that health care was accessible to every person who needed it. In the rural areas where I am based, most people depend on public health services, as they are unemployed and living in poverty. Many people often die without visiting the health-care facilities, as they fear the lack of competence and negative attitudes reported in the media about the nurses. 

In my work, I am developing guidelines to facilitate professional interpersonal skills for learners, so that when they graduate, they are competent and compassionate practitioners. 

With competent and caring practitioners, communities throughout South Africa will have trust in the health-care system and make use of public health-care services, resulting in a decrease in complications and early loss of life. 

Global health is one of the critical issues for the future of the human species, especially in Africa, where both infectious and non-communicable diseases threaten development. What will your project contribute to the field?

Globally, health care is a constitutional right, and every person is entitled to it. In many developing countries such as South Africa, non-communicable diseases are now major causes of morbidity and mortality, although they can be prevented and well managed. 

The relationship between health-care workers and the community is important. If health-care practitioners are competent and compassionate, morbidity and mortality could be lessened, as services will be utilised where monitoring and early diagnosis are done.

What are your career plans for the future? How will a PhD qualification assist you in reaching these goals?

Now that I have finished my doctoral studies, I would like to develop as a researcher and publish articles. I would also like to present papers at conferences in order to share information with colleagues nationally and internationally. 

Furthermore, I have also made plans to do what I love, to share knowledge and information; presenting workshops on the guidelines I developed to facilitate professional interpersonal skills for members in the nursing profession.

What is your advice for aspiring PhD candidates?

It is possible to achieve your dreams. With discipline, a positive attitude, and the support of supervisors, you have all you need to make your dream a reality.

News Archive

Researchers international leaders in satellite tracking in the wildlife environment
2015-05-29

 

Ground-breaking research has attracted international media attention to Francois Deacon, lecturer and researcher in the Department Animal, Wildlife and Grassland Sciences at the UFS, and Prof Nico Smit, from the same department. They are the first researchers in the world to equip giraffes with GPS collars, and to conduct research on this initiative. Recently, they have been joined by Hennie Butler from the Department of Zoology as well as Free State Nature Conservation to further this research.

“Satellite tracking is proving to be extremely valuable in the wildlife environment. The unit is based on a mobile global two-way communication platform, utilising two-way data satellite communication, complete with GPS systems.

“It allows us to track animals day and night, while we monitor their movements remotely from the computer. These systems make possible the efficient control and monitoring of wildlife in all weather conditions and in near-to-real time. We can even communicate with the animals, calling up their positions or changing the tracking schedules.

“The satellite collar allows us to use the extremely accurate data to conduct research with the best technology available. The volume of data received allows us to publish the data in scientific journals and research-related articles.  

“Scientific institutions and the public sector have both shown great interest in satellite tracking, which opens up new ground for scientific research for this university. Data management can be done, using Africa Wildlife Tracking (AWT) equipment where we can access our data personally, store it, and make visual presentations. The AWT system and software architecture provide the researcher with asset tracking, GPS location reports, geo-fencing, highly-detailed custom mapping, history reports and playback, polling on demand, history plotting on maps, and a range of reporting types and functions,” Francois said.

Data can be analysed to determine home range, dispersal, or habitat preference for any specific species.

Francois has been involved in multiple research projects over the last 12 years on wildlife species and domesticated animals, including the collaring of species such as Black-backed Jackal, Caracal, African Wild Dog, Hyena, Lion, Cheetah, Cattle, Kudu, Giraffe, and Black Rhino: “Giraffe definitely being the most challenging of all,” he said.

In 2010, he started working on his PhD, entitled The spatial ecology, habitat preferences and diet selection of giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis giraffa) in the Kalahari region of South Africa.

 

Since then, his work has resulted not only in more research work (supervising four Masters students) but also in a number of national and international projects. These include work in the:

  • Kalahari region (e.g. Khamab Nature Reserve and Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park)
  • Kuruman region (Collared 18 cattle to identify spatial patterns in relation to the qualities of vegetation and soil-types available. This project took place in collaboration with Born University in Germany)
  • Woodland Hills Wildlife Estate and Kolomella Iron Ore – ecological monitoring
  • A number of Free State nature reserves (e.g. Distribution of herbivores (kudu and giraffe) and predators (camera traps)

Francois is also involved with species breeding programmes and management (giraffe, buffalo, sable, roan, and rhino) in Korrannaberg, Rustenburg, Hertzogville, Douglas, and Bethlehem as well as animal and ecological monitoring in Kolomella and Beesthoek iron ore.

Besides the collaring of giraffes, Francois and his colleagues are involved in national projects, where they collect milk from lactating giraffes and DNA material, blood samples, and ecto/endo parasites from giraffes in Southern Africa.

With international projects, Francois is working to collect DNA material for the classification of the nine sub-species of giraffe in Africa. He is also involved in projects focusing on the spatial ecology and adaptation of giraffe in Uganda (Murchison Falls), and to save the last 30 giraffe in the DRC- Garamba National Park.

This project has attracted a good deal of international interest. In June 2014, a US film crew (freelancing for Discovery Channel) filmed a documentary on Francois’ research (trailer of documentary). Early in 2015, a second crew, filming for National Geographic, also visited Francois to document his work.

 

More information about Francois’ work is available at the GCF website. 

Read Francois Deacon's PhD abstract

Direct enquiries to news@ufs.ac.za.

 

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