Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: In a time of renewed interest in the challenges of adolescent sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and service use, increased scholarly attention paid to fieldwork and knowledge production is critical. I describe the pleasure and challenges of engaging with multiple perspectives, spaces, places, and roles at a family centre in Malawi to understand the complexity of the interactions and relationships related to my doctoral fieldwork. This work is part of a large mixed-method study that explores SRH, service use, and resilience among adolescents living with HIV and attending a teen-club clinic in Blantyre, Malawi. Drawing from resilience theory and experiences of reflexivity, I reflect on my roles as a student of medical anthropology and public health, a ‘friend’, an ‘aunt’, and a ‘volunteer’; on my occupation of diverse spaces (clinics, homes, school grounds, digital); and on my use of multiple methods (including participants’ observations, individual and group interviews, workshops, feedback sessions, and fieldnotes), which make up the data collection, analysis, and interpretation processes. The reflections contained in this essay advance our understanding of the implications of the methodological considerations and ethical questions underscoring approaches to adolescents research.
Source: Medicine Anthropology Theory
Author: Blessings N. Kaunda-Khangamwa
Institution: University of the Witwatersrand
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
Funders: Carnegie Corporation of New York, Styrelsen för Internationellt Utvecklingssamarbete, Wellcome Trust, Government of the United Kingdom, Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, New Partnership for Africa's Development, African Population and Health Research Center, African Academy of Sciences, Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa
Awards: G123861907, G1532947363, G154122429, G165858427, G1879544889, G1974015855, G2025417787, G2566724421, G2616461257, Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa+ (CARTA+), G3399693352, G35167842, G3860705625, G4133218166, G4326355804, G4330659229, G4709786132, G5608951132, G5983382732, G6265712692, G6445368145, G6646813353, G6763936979, G6868616705, G6934978824, G7097188452, G7146663558, G7515722644, G7531548847, G7938902035, CARTA/APHRC support 2017-2023, G8580928051, G8836459258
OpenAlex ID: W3097761845