Kate Abney | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (original) (raw)
Papers by Kate Abney
Each year, approximately one million people die from malaria, and more than 90% of these people a... more Each year, approximately one million people die from malaria, and more than 90% of these people are from Sub-Saharan Africa (World Health Organization 2011). Despite the magnitude of this epidemic, people in this region of Africa, particularly those who live in rural areas, are still largely unaware of the characteristics of this disease. The aim of this study is was to assess malaria awareness in the HaMakuya District, located in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Thirteen households were randomly interviewed using an open-ended questionnaire. The level of malaria awareness in respondents was analyzed in four key areas: transmission, initial symptoms, treatment, and prevention. The participants’ knowledge was then linked to the source of their information.. Although respondents were knowledgeable about the initial symptoms and treatment of malaria, based on discrepancies in personal knowledge and scientific facts outlined in government publications from the Center for Disease Control and World Health Organization, the data indicated that few people understood the means of malaria transmission, as well as the methods of prevention preferred by the medical community.. Out of both personal and institutional sources of information, the Department of Health and the Makuya Clinic were the most effective institutions in conveying mosquitoes as the vector of malaria.
Medicine Anthropology Theory, Apr 14, 2015
Bodies of Knowledge: Children and Childhoods in Health and Affliction, 2021
At the time of my field-research (2010), BCH housed 320 beds for TB inpatients, of which 60 were ... more At the time of my field-research (2010), BCH housed 320 beds for TB inpatients, of which 60 were reserved for paediatric patients. I worked with over 50 children during that year, all of whom came from similar social and economic backgrounds and had one defining feature in common, namely that they were being treated for very complicated forms of TB in a country with a high TB burden. 4 BCH housed two paediatric wards, Ward B and Ward 3. Ward B accommodated 40 beds for children under 5 years old and those classified as 'new arrivals' or 'still infectious'. Ward 3 housed older children, generally ranging from 5 to 15 years of age. Children 16 years of age and older lived within the exclusively male or female adult wards, which were classified by the severity and type of TB. The majority of the paediatric patients at BCH were admitted because guardians were not able to continue care for them. In addition to these factors, all of the children living there were extremely ill upon arrival. They required the extra care and support Brooklyn provided for all patients while they recuperated. BCH furnished patients with three meals daily, clothing, a bed, shelter, schooling, and extremely expensive healthcare which would not otherwise be affordable or accessible. Most of my research time was spent with Ward 3 children and their carers; nurses, teachers, and medical personnel. I interacted with audiologists, physical therapists, x-ray technicians and aides. The intimacy and duration of ethnographic fieldwork renders a form of research that is intensely personal, unique and nuanced. As such, the children and I did almost everything together: went to school, ate lunch or dinner, drank pills and played a lot. 3 Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR TB) is caused by an organism that is resistant to at least isoniazid and rifampin, the two most potent TB drugs that comprise frontline treatment. These drugs are used to treat all persons with TB.
for funding this research. The deepest respect and gratitude goes to those who participated in th... more for funding this research. The deepest respect and gratitude goes to those who participated in this project: thank you for sharing your time, thoughts and sometimes deep personal pain with me. I am very grateful for the ongoing guidance, support, (and unwavering patience through the writing process) from my advisor, Dr. Helen Macdonald, who has carefully and thoughtfully cultivated this research interest. She never failed to show me new entry points and intellectual tools which enriched my work immensely. Thandi, sisi wam: Enkosi and Ndiyabulela kakhulu for your work ethic and budding interest in anthropology. I hope you enjoyed our time in the field. To all in Thandi's family: thank you for your relentless hospitality, a ‗home base', and endless cups of tea, Ndiyabulela. To Patrick Madden: my editor, thank you for your patience, sense of humour and critical feedback. My writing will never be the same and I found you just in time! To the Abney clan: thank you for patience and space when I had to write during the holidays, and thanks for the continued support from across the puddle. To Laura Winterton: thank you for the comic relief, open ears and sensitive insight. Lastly to Pet'a Mach: Thanks for the big things, the small things, and everything in between.
Support and encourage current research through its disbursement of funds through the block grant ... more Support and encourage current research through its disbursement of funds through the block grant process Enable senior academics to display academic leadership in advancing work in their discipline and in mentoring more junior colleagues Foster the next generation of scholars through postdoctoral fellowships and doctoral scholarships (renewable for three years) Reward and incentivise good scholarship 5 A rated 27B rated 79 NRF-rated researchers 193 Accredited journal units (Units are assigned to accredited research outputs and translate into a total monetary value) 80 th 52 nd The 2014-15 Times Higher Education World University Rankings places UCT at 80th for arts and humanities and 52nd for social sciences DOCTORAL GRADUATIONS K.C. ABNEY (SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY) At the foot of Table Mountain: paediatric tuberculosis patient experiences in a centralised treatment facility in Cape Town, South Africa
Anthropology Southern Africa
Journal of public health in Africa, Jan 31, 2016
Skin-lightening is an aesthetic practice of global concern. By adopting a biopsycho-social approa... more Skin-lightening is an aesthetic practice of global concern. By adopting a biopsycho-social approach, we consider the interplay between the biological, psychological and social factors that underpin the circulation and consumption of skin lighteners in South Africa. This paper reflects on biological aspects of skin lightening, interpersonal relationships, individual beliefs and expectations about the maintenance of health and well being that informs cosmetic practices. The paper seeks to examine claims made by historians (Thomas) and political philosophers and activists (Biko) that colonialism and apartheid in South Africa historically reinforced the use of skin lightening products in the country. The paper also investigates the role of media in staking out the boundaries of beauty. We argue that men and women practice skin-lightening not only as a complex result of the internalization of global standards of beauty, but meshed with a national politics of race and colorism. Banning sk...
Qualitative Health Research, 2015
Haunted by a legacy of apartheid governance that left millions in material poverty, South Africa ... more Haunted by a legacy of apartheid governance that left millions in material poverty, South Africa has among the highest tuberculosis (TB) morbidity and mortality rates in the world. Our Social Markers of TB research project shared a vision of working with ethnographic research methods to understand TB-infected persons, their families, care providers, and social networks. We argue that felt and enacted TB stigma and the related HIV-TB stigma impaired our ability to collect the necessary data for full portrait of TB-infected persons and their lived conditions. To circumvent this limitation, each researcher improvised and augmented conventional anthropological methods with more creative, directed, and at times destabilizing methods. We present three case studies as useful illustrations of the complexities and challenges we encountered in our attempts to conduct ethically sound TB research. We discuss the implications of our call for "improvisation" for the politics of research and ethical oversight.
Each year, approximately one million people die from malaria, and more than 90% of these people a... more Each year, approximately one million people die from malaria, and more than 90% of these people are from Sub-Saharan Africa (World Health Organization 2011). Despite the magnitude of this epidemic, people in this region of Africa, particularly those who live in rural areas, are still largely unaware of the characteristics of this disease. The aim of this study is was to assess malaria awareness in the HaMakuya District, located in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Thirteen households were randomly interviewed using an open-ended questionnaire. The level of malaria awareness in respondents was analyzed in four key areas: transmission, initial symptoms, treatment, and prevention. The participants’ knowledge was then linked to the source of their information.. Although respondents were knowledgeable about the initial symptoms and treatment of malaria, based on discrepancies in personal knowledge and scientific facts outlined in government publications from the Center for Disease Control and World Health Organization, the data indicated that few people understood the means of malaria transmission, as well as the methods of prevention preferred by the medical community.. Out of both personal and institutional sources of information, the Department of Health and the Makuya Clinic were the most effective institutions in conveying mosquitoes as the vector of malaria.
Medicine Anthropology Theory, Apr 14, 2015
Bodies of Knowledge: Children and Childhoods in Health and Affliction, 2021
At the time of my field-research (2010), BCH housed 320 beds for TB inpatients, of which 60 were ... more At the time of my field-research (2010), BCH housed 320 beds for TB inpatients, of which 60 were reserved for paediatric patients. I worked with over 50 children during that year, all of whom came from similar social and economic backgrounds and had one defining feature in common, namely that they were being treated for very complicated forms of TB in a country with a high TB burden. 4 BCH housed two paediatric wards, Ward B and Ward 3. Ward B accommodated 40 beds for children under 5 years old and those classified as 'new arrivals' or 'still infectious'. Ward 3 housed older children, generally ranging from 5 to 15 years of age. Children 16 years of age and older lived within the exclusively male or female adult wards, which were classified by the severity and type of TB. The majority of the paediatric patients at BCH were admitted because guardians were not able to continue care for them. In addition to these factors, all of the children living there were extremely ill upon arrival. They required the extra care and support Brooklyn provided for all patients while they recuperated. BCH furnished patients with three meals daily, clothing, a bed, shelter, schooling, and extremely expensive healthcare which would not otherwise be affordable or accessible. Most of my research time was spent with Ward 3 children and their carers; nurses, teachers, and medical personnel. I interacted with audiologists, physical therapists, x-ray technicians and aides. The intimacy and duration of ethnographic fieldwork renders a form of research that is intensely personal, unique and nuanced. As such, the children and I did almost everything together: went to school, ate lunch or dinner, drank pills and played a lot. 3 Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR TB) is caused by an organism that is resistant to at least isoniazid and rifampin, the two most potent TB drugs that comprise frontline treatment. These drugs are used to treat all persons with TB.
for funding this research. The deepest respect and gratitude goes to those who participated in th... more for funding this research. The deepest respect and gratitude goes to those who participated in this project: thank you for sharing your time, thoughts and sometimes deep personal pain with me. I am very grateful for the ongoing guidance, support, (and unwavering patience through the writing process) from my advisor, Dr. Helen Macdonald, who has carefully and thoughtfully cultivated this research interest. She never failed to show me new entry points and intellectual tools which enriched my work immensely. Thandi, sisi wam: Enkosi and Ndiyabulela kakhulu for your work ethic and budding interest in anthropology. I hope you enjoyed our time in the field. To all in Thandi's family: thank you for your relentless hospitality, a ‗home base', and endless cups of tea, Ndiyabulela. To Patrick Madden: my editor, thank you for your patience, sense of humour and critical feedback. My writing will never be the same and I found you just in time! To the Abney clan: thank you for patience and space when I had to write during the holidays, and thanks for the continued support from across the puddle. To Laura Winterton: thank you for the comic relief, open ears and sensitive insight. Lastly to Pet'a Mach: Thanks for the big things, the small things, and everything in between.
Support and encourage current research through its disbursement of funds through the block grant ... more Support and encourage current research through its disbursement of funds through the block grant process Enable senior academics to display academic leadership in advancing work in their discipline and in mentoring more junior colleagues Foster the next generation of scholars through postdoctoral fellowships and doctoral scholarships (renewable for three years) Reward and incentivise good scholarship 5 A rated 27B rated 79 NRF-rated researchers 193 Accredited journal units (Units are assigned to accredited research outputs and translate into a total monetary value) 80 th 52 nd The 2014-15 Times Higher Education World University Rankings places UCT at 80th for arts and humanities and 52nd for social sciences DOCTORAL GRADUATIONS K.C. ABNEY (SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY) At the foot of Table Mountain: paediatric tuberculosis patient experiences in a centralised treatment facility in Cape Town, South Africa
Anthropology Southern Africa
Journal of public health in Africa, Jan 31, 2016
Skin-lightening is an aesthetic practice of global concern. By adopting a biopsycho-social approa... more Skin-lightening is an aesthetic practice of global concern. By adopting a biopsycho-social approach, we consider the interplay between the biological, psychological and social factors that underpin the circulation and consumption of skin lighteners in South Africa. This paper reflects on biological aspects of skin lightening, interpersonal relationships, individual beliefs and expectations about the maintenance of health and well being that informs cosmetic practices. The paper seeks to examine claims made by historians (Thomas) and political philosophers and activists (Biko) that colonialism and apartheid in South Africa historically reinforced the use of skin lightening products in the country. The paper also investigates the role of media in staking out the boundaries of beauty. We argue that men and women practice skin-lightening not only as a complex result of the internalization of global standards of beauty, but meshed with a national politics of race and colorism. Banning sk...
Qualitative Health Research, 2015
Haunted by a legacy of apartheid governance that left millions in material poverty, South Africa ... more Haunted by a legacy of apartheid governance that left millions in material poverty, South Africa has among the highest tuberculosis (TB) morbidity and mortality rates in the world. Our Social Markers of TB research project shared a vision of working with ethnographic research methods to understand TB-infected persons, their families, care providers, and social networks. We argue that felt and enacted TB stigma and the related HIV-TB stigma impaired our ability to collect the necessary data for full portrait of TB-infected persons and their lived conditions. To circumvent this limitation, each researcher improvised and augmented conventional anthropological methods with more creative, directed, and at times destabilizing methods. We present three case studies as useful illustrations of the complexities and challenges we encountered in our attempts to conduct ethically sound TB research. We discuss the implications of our call for "improvisation" for the politics of research and ethical oversight.