Summary
Dr Gabriel Gyang Darong lives by the adage, “whatever is worth doing, is worth doing well”, by the English authour, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll. Dr. Darong has a philosophy and ethics background gained from St. Joseph’s Theological Institute, Cedara. He embarked on his postgraduate studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Howard College Campus, Durban, where he obtained his Bachelor of Social Science, Honours, Master of Social Science, and PhD., all in Anthropology. He is currently studying towards a Postgradaute Diploma in Higher Education at Rhodes University.
Dr Darong’s previous research includes research on HIV education, the role of ethnomedical knowledge and biomedical training on healthcare practitioners’ approach to patient care, and the practice of medical pluralism amongst people living with HIV. He has also been involved in research projects that look at the practice of voluntary medical male circumcision at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s School of Nursing and Public Health, and bottlenecks in the HIV continuum at the Africa Health Research Institute, Mtubatuba. His current research involvement includes working on projects such as the People’s Voice Survey and maternal and child health interventions. These projects are run by the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s QuEST (Quality Evidence for Health System Transformation) Centre, which is part of the QuEST Network, led by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard. Dr Darong is also currently studying the health science curriculum of a South African University to assess the level at which teachings on medical pluralism are incorporated into the curriculum. This project also seeks to explore how such incorporation can be better done across other South African universities in order for the students to be trained into becoming healthcare practitioners that are fit for purpose in a medically-plural society.
Contact Details
Tel: 046 603 8230
Email: g.darong@ru.ac.za
Qualifications
PhD – Anthropology – University of KwaZulu-Natal
Master of Social Science – Anthropology (Summa Cum Laude) – University of KwaZulu-Natal
Bachelor of Social Science: Honours – Anthropology (Cum Laude) – University of KwaZulu-Natal
Bachelor of Arts – Philosophy (Cum Laude) – St. Joseph’s Theological Institute
Teaching and supervision
He teaches Medical Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology, Applied anthropology, Families and Households, and Qualitative Research Methods at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He currently supervises undergraduates, honours, masters and PhD students.
Research Interests
Medical anthropology; health systems research; health systems collaboration; medical pluralism; HIV/AIDS; Family systems and households.
Publications
- Mabuza, L.H., Darong, G.G., Makhudu, S.J., Drysdale, R.E. and Moshabela, M., 2021. The Training of Undergraduate Medical Students in General Medical Practice and Primary Health Care: A Scoping Review. The Open Public Health Journal, 14(1).
- Moshabela, M., Bukenya, D., Darong, G., Wamoyi, J., McLean, E., Skovdal, M., Ddaaki, W., Ondeng’e, K., Bonnington, O., Seeley, J. and Hosegood, V., 2017. Traditional healers, faith healers and medical practitioners: the contribution of medical pluralism to bottlenecks along the cascade of care for HIV/AIDS in Eastern and Southern Africa. Sexually transmitted infections, 93(Suppl 3).
- Naidu, M. and Darong, G., 2015. When illness is more than just a sick body: Probing how isiZulu-Speaking nurses’ construct illnesses and healing. The Oriental Anthropologist, 15(1), p.91.
- Naidu, M. and Darong, G., 2015. The ancestors have caused this: isiZulu-speaking nurses’ understandings of illness and patient care. Anthropological Notebooks, 21(2).
- Naidu, M. and Darong, G., 2015. Illness and health as constructions: Narratives of Sangoma nurses. Studies on Ethno-Medicine, 9(3), pp.289-295.
Last Modified: Mon, 20 Nov 2023 14:36:43 SAST
