Ntsikelelo Pefile

Lecturer

EMAIL
PefileN@ukzn.ac.za

TELEPHONE
031-260-8341

CAMPUS
Westville Campus

Office Address
E5 – 01 – 024

BIOSKETCH

Experience

Dr Ntsikelelo Pefile has worked in the public sector (clinical), corporate (incapacity and disability management in the workplace). He also has extensive experience in physiotherapy education from various universities in South Africa.

Degrees Held

BSc (Physiotherapy) UWC
PGD (Public Health) Wits,
MScMedSc (Rehabilitation Studies) SUN,
PhD (Health Sciences) UKZN

Supervision

Dr Pefile has supervised to completion over

20 research projects at honours level
8 master’s students.
Currently supervising four master’s students and 2 PhD students.

Current Research Projects

Vocational Rehabilitation for people with spinal cord injuries in South Africa
Exploring incapacity and disability management in the workplace
Experience of physiotherapy students in adult neurological rehabilitation education using problem-based learning.
Active ageing and people with spinal cord injuries in South Africa
Exploring social impact of physiotherapy education in South Africa using the social justice theory
Neuroscience implications of adult neurological interventions.
Interprofessional continuous education programme for rehabilitation mid-level workers in South Africa

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Ageing and Disability
Occupational Health (Vocational Rehabilitation, Health Promotion in the Workplace)
Health Policy and Analysis (Interaction between Health, Social, Rehabilitation and Disability Policies in South Africa)
Health Systems Strengthening (Rehabilitations Services in South Africa)
Problem based learning (Use of transformative learning theory and social justice theory in exploring problem-based learning in adult neurological rehabilitation in south Africa
Curriculum Development in Physiotherapy

Teaching Interest

Dr Pefile is interested in teaching Adult Neurological Rehabilitation and Kinesiology (study of movement), using a blended approach (online and face to face), utilising Problem Based Learning as a teaching pedagogical approach. He integrates the use of AI in the assisting students to source the best available evidence. He is also highly skilled in curriculum and programme development and evaluation. His scholarly contribution in teaching and learning includes clinical education and the best practices in the implementation of PBL.

LIST OF PUBLICATIONS

Pefile, N., Visagie, S. and Gcaza, S. (2015) ‘Exploring work-related spinal cord injuries in Gauteng province, South Africa’, Physiotherapy. doi: 10.1016/j.physio.2015.03.2109.
Pefile, N., Mothabeng, J. and Naidoo, S. (2016) ‘A Multidisciplinary Model to Guide Employment Outcomes Among People Living With Spinal Cord Injuries in South Africa: A Mixed Methods Study Protocol’, JMIR Research Protocols. doi: 10.2196/resprot.5887.
Pefile, N., Mothabeng, J. D. and Naidoo, S. (2018) ‘Profile of patients with spinal cord injuries in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa: Implications for vocational rehabilitation’, The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine. Taylor & Francis, 0(0), pp. 1–10. doi: 10.1080/10790268.2018.1428264.
Chetty, V., Maddocks, S., Cobbing, S., Pefile, N., Govender, T., Shah, S., … & Mnguni, N. (2018). Physiotherapy clinical education at a South African university. African Journal of Health Professions Education, 10(1), 13-18.
Govender, P., Chetty, V., Naidoo, D., & Pefile, N. (2018). Integrated Decentralized Training for Health Professions Education at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: Protocol for the I-DecT Project. JMIR Research Protocols, 7(1).
Pillay, P., Pefile, N., Cobbing, S., & Gurayah, T. (2020). The quality of life, health needs and knowledge of children living with congenital heart disease in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. South African Journal of Child Health, 14(1), 20-2
Pefile, N., Fodo, B. & Amosun, S., 2022, ‘Exploration of service centres for older persons in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa’, South African Journal of Physiotherapy 78(1), a1567. https://doi. org/10.4102/sajp.v78i1.1567
Buys, E., Nadasan, T., Pefile, N., Ogunlana, M. O., & Naidoo, D. (2022). Clinical and socio-demographic determinants of community reintegration in people with spinal cord injury in eThekwini Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal province. South African Journal of Physiotherapy, 78(1), 7.