For Colette Kell, her passion for health promotion has paid off as she prepares for her graduation for her PhD in Health Sciences, entitled: An exploration of the adoption of personal non-pharmaceutical interventions by students at a university of technology in response to the COVID-19 outbreak at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) 2024 Spring Graduation. The prestigious event will be held at the Durban Exhibition Centre on Thursday, 19 September 2024.
Kell (45) is a full-time pathology lecturer in Basic Medical Sciences, a DUT service department in the Faculty of Health Sciences.
Kell was inspired by the Huang Dee Nai-Chang quote ‘Superior doctors prevent disease. Mediocre doctors treat the disease before it is evident. Inferior doctors treat the full-blown disease.’
‘On top of this, living in South Africa I am acutely aware of the need to reduce the strain on our public health care system and the importance of targeting girls aged 15-24 to break the cycle of HIV transmission that plagues the country” she said.
Despite government plans to implement the NHI Bill, which has a strong focus on health promotion, Kell could find very little in terms of how to design much needed effective behaviour change interventions for young people.
“When COVID-19 struck, we all had to change our behaviour. I saw an opportunity to study behaviour change in young people and I didn’t look back,” she confessed.
Despite the pressures of full-time work and motherhood while studying, Kell thought that she managed to find a reasonable balance between her home life, work life and studies.
“My amazing husband reminded me of the many, many mornings that I sat at my computer from before 5am so that I could make the most of my quiet time. I was also extremely fortunate to acquire some funding that allowed me to take a short sabbatical to complete my write up”.
“The most frustrating part was probably the administrative delays, but my main supervisor Professor Haffejee was very proactive in chasing people to get things done,” she chuckled.
Head of Department: Basic Medical Sciences, and Kell’s supervisor. Professor Firoza Haffejee also conveyed her heartfelt congratulations to Dr Colette Kell on achieving their PhD.
“This remarkable accomplishment is a testament to your dedication, hard work, and unwavering perseverance. Completing a PhD is no small feat, and both of you have achieved this whilst in full time roles not just as academic staff but also as wives and mothers. I have watched both of you tackle your various challenges, and push boundaries in order maintain high standards of scholarship. Your achievement reflects your individual excellence and is a testament to your commitment to advancing knowledge in your field. Your success not only enhances your personal journey but also enriches our collective expertise within the Basic Medical Sciences Department, driving us all toward greater heights. We’re incredibly proud of your achievement and the valuable insights that you will bring to our team. Your new skills and knowledge will contribute to our future successes. I’ve had the honour of witnessing your growth and development firsthand, and I am incredibly proud of all that you’ve accomplished. Your success is a well-deserved recognition of your hard work and intellectual curiosity. Congratulations once again on this extraordinary milestone. Wishing you continued success and fulfilment in all your future endeavours.”
Kell works with students from different programmes from second to the fourth year, at which point students need to apply the content that they have learned over the years on a clinical level.
“This can be a challenge for many students but seeing the growth over time is extremely rewarding,” she explained.
Now that she has been bitten by the research bug, Kell has started to combine her passion for education and research . This includes a community health worker education initiative at the Denis Hurley Centre, with PhD buddy, Jennifer Ducray. An initiative that won an Institutional Community Engagement Showcasing Award.
Whilst postgraduate studies can be tough, Kell enjoyed her research journey. “I registered for my PhD in early 2021 and was very fortunate to submit in November 2023.” Her advice to students wishing to follow in her footsteps?
“Your proposal is everything. How you start is how you finish, so make sure you get it right. Put on your thick research skin. Everyone’s job is to critique everything that you do, it’s not personal, it’s how we get the best result. Some days you won’t be able to write anything remotely decent. Write anyway. It won’t be good, but the next day it will give you something to work on. Also, have a PhD buddy. They will understand what you are going through like no other,” she stressed.
Pictured: Colette Kell
Waheeda Peters
