DHRS / Divisions / Occupational Therapy

Staff

Dr Elelwani Ramugondo

Dr Elelwani Ramugondo Position

Head of Division of Occupational Therapy and Senior Lecturer, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town

Qualifications

BSc (OccTher) MSc (OccTher) PhD Cape Town

Dr Elelwani Ramugondo is the current Head of Division of Occupational Therapy at the University of Cape Town. She completed a PhD which introduced an intergenerational perspective in the study of children�s play in 2009. Her thesis revealed how due to rapid social change, the rhetoric of play within family in an African context can change from being about collective identity, to being more flexible, idiosyncratic, and hence more complex. Elelwani Ramugondo�s doctoral thesis introduced new terminology which seeks to help surface the political dimension of what people do every day.

Dr Elelwani Ramugondo described occupational consciousness as referring to an ongoing awareness of the dynamics of hegemony, an appreciation of the role of personal and collective occupations of daily life in perpetuating hegemonic practices, and an appraisal of resultant consequences for individual and collective well-being. Dr Ramugondo �s research interests are centered on Epistemologies & Relevance in Occupational Therapy Practice & Education with the following key areas of interest:

Play for children in context - an intergenerational perspective
Spirituality in occupational therapy practice
Transformational Leadership in O.T practice
The political nature of Occupation
Contextual Relevance in O.T curricula

Dr Elelwani Ramugondo teaches across undergraduate and postgraduate programs on Play, Spirituality, Human Occupation, and Qualitative Research Methodology. Her approach to teaching on Play and Spirituality situates these concepts in context while exploring each of these as a resource for promoting health and well-being. Elelwani�s interest in Play and Spirituality was sharpened during her work with HIV positive mothers and their children. She maintains her work in HIV through participation as a board member for The Kidzpositive Family Fund � a non-profit organization whose main goal is to raise funds to support health and welfare structures that help combat the impact of HIV infection on families.

Publications:

Ramugondo, E. L. & Barry, A. (2011). Enabling play in the context of rapid social change. In: F Kronenberg, N Pollard and D. Sakellariou (Eds). Occupational Therapies without Borders � Volume II: Towards an Ecology of Occupation-Based Practices. Churchill Livingstone Elsevier: Edinburgh

Fane, T., Ramugondo, E., Leshoele M. & Coker, I. (2010). The value of beadwork for women living with HIV/AIDS. South African Journal of Occupational Therapy, 40 (2): 5 - 10

Kronenberg, F. Ramugondo, E. (2011) Ubuntourism: engaging divided people in post-apartheid South Africa. In: F Kronenberg, N Pollard and D. Sakellariou (Eds). Occupational Therapies without Borders � Volume II: Towards an Ecology of Occupation-Based Practices. Churchill Livingstone Elsevier: Edinburgh

Kronenberg, F., Pollard, N., Ramugondo, E. Introduction: courage to dance politics (2011). In: F Kronenberg, N Pollard and D. Sakellariou (Eds). Occupational Therapies without Borders � Volume II: Towards an Ecology of Occupation-Based Practices. Churchill Livingstone Elsevier: Edinburgh

De Jongh, J., Firfirey, F., Hess-April, L., Ramugondo, E. Smit, N., Van Niekerk, L. (2011) Nature of political reasoning as a foundation for engagement. In: F Kronenberg, N Pollard and D. Sakellariou (Eds). Occupational Therapies without Borders � Volume II: Towards an Ecology of Occupation-Based Practices. Churchill Livingstone Elsevier: Edinburgh

Bross, H., Ramugondo, E., Taylor, C., Sinclair, C. (2008). Children need others: Triggers for playfulness in pre-schoolers with multiple disabilities living within an informal settlement. South African Journal of Occupational Therapy, 39 (2): 1-5.

Joubert, R., Galvaan, G, & Ramugondo, E. (2006). Reflecting on Contexts of Service Learning (pp 36-49), Practice and Service Learning in Occupational Therapy: Enhancing potential in context. Edited by Theresa Lorenzo, Madeline Duncan, Helen Buchanan & Auldeen Alsop. ISBN 0-470-01969-7

Ramugondo, E.L. (2005) Unlocking spirituality: play as a health-promoting occupation in the context of HIV/AIDS (pp 313-325), Occupational Therapy without Borders � Learning from the Spirit of Survivors. Edited by Frank Kronenberg, Salvador Sim� Algado and Nick Pollard. Published in London by Elsevier Science-Churchill Livingstone. ISBN/ISSN 0-443-07440-2

Ramugondo E. L. (2004) Play and playfulness: Children living with HIV/AIDS (pp 171 - 185). Transformation Through Occupation: Human Occupation in Context, Edited by Ruth Watson and Leslie Swartz. Published in London by Whurr. ISBN/ISSN 1 86156 425 2

Weskamp K & Ramugondo E. L. (2004) Taking account of spirituality (pp 153 - 167). Transformation Through Occupation: Human Occupation in Context. Edited by Ruth Watson and Leslie Swartz. Published in London by Whurr, ISNBN/ ISSN 1 86156 425 2

Ramugondo, E. HIV/AIDS in children: Playfulness and Therapy. COMMUNIPHON. Winter 2003, Number 335.

DIVISIONS

Occupational Therapy

Staff