SU researchers granted R65 million for maternal mental health program

Stellenbosch University (SU) researchers have received a grant of R65 million for research in maternal mental health. This is according to Sarah Skeen, professor at Stellenbosch University and researcher at Institute for Life Course Health Research.

The grant was awarded by the United Kingdom’s (UK) National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), said Skeen.

The Community Health Interventions through Musical Engagement (CHIME) and SU will be co-leading the international initiative with Roehampton University in the UK, with the aim of researching how maternal mental health can be improved through music-based interventions, said Skeen.

Collaboration for funding 

According to an Instagram post released by the Institute Of Life Course Health Research on 24 February, “CHIME brings together researchers from South Africa, the UK, The Gambia, Lesotho, and Australia to explore our culturally embedded musical practices that can support perinatal mental health in three African countries”.

“[CHIME and SU] decided to collaborate and put in the grant application together, which we are very lucky was successful,” said Skeen.

The R65 million is split across the three countries before sending a grant application, said Dr Stefani du Toit, senior researcher at the Institute for Life Course Health Research.

“The amount of funding allocated to each country is determined prior to applying for the grant,” said Du Toit.

^{“The amount of funding allocated to each country is determined prior to applying for the grant,” said Dr Stefani du Toit, senior researcher at the Institute for Life Course Health Research, on the application process for a multi-million rand grant fund, which was recently awarded to Stellenbosch University and Roehampton University.“Funding is sustainable for a project as you need funding to conduct research activities [and] support research teams.” PHOTO: Supplied/Stefani du Toit.}

“[The grant] supports collaborations between researchers, healthcare providers, and local communities,” said Moroesi Gladys Makhetha, a junior researcher at SU who is based in Lesotho.

“We believe that through this funding and all the activities that we have planned to do, [we] will be able to achieve our goal, or will be able to address what CHIME is trying to do in Lesotho,” said Makhetha.

Importance of the grant

SU became involved in music-based interventions for maternal mental health through its Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and the Department of Global Health, according to Skeen.

“Mental health needs of pregnant women far exceed what services are available,” said Skeen. “In South Africa, we do have good mental health services, but they are often in the cities or very specific places. They are expensive and hard to reach, or they tend to be only in specific kinds of health services, for example.”

“We focus a lot on developing and evaluating community-based health interventions, caregiver mental health, and child adolescent mental health,” said Skeen.There are other factors, like poverty, food insecurity, and limited access to resources, that also have an impact on maternal mental health, according to Makhetha.

^{Moroesi Gladys Makhetha, a junior researcher at Stellenbosch University who is based in Lesotho, talks on maternal mental health challenges and factors contributing to them. PHOTO: Supplied/Moroesi Gladys Makhetha.}

The main purpose of the intervention groups is to start regular singing activities with pregnant women as a way to improve their mental health, according to Skeen.

Research has shown that “participating in music, and group singing in particular, has got a number of different mental health benefits”, said Skeen.

^{In Lesotho, “some musicians and women groups called Pitiki [include] other traditional dances such as Mokhibo/litolobonya”, said Moroesi Gladys Makhetha, a junior researcher at SU who is based in Lesotho.“[Usually it is] group-based music with a lot of clapping, and in most cases drums.” PHOTO: Kyla Laing}