Phoene’s research spans multiple disciplines—social development, with a focus on social policy and social protection, and public health, specifically sexual and reproductive health. Additionally, Phoene is interested in teaching and learning strategies to support students’ success at the university.

Phoene joined the SOPH in October 2023, and is involved in the Learning Partnership for Gender Transformation (LP4GT) project which explores what it takes to integrate a gender transformative approach into the pre-existing ‘My Journey Program’ that addresses various determinants of health for adolescents and young people in South Africa.

Phoene also provides administrative support to the Adolescent and Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) cluster. Additionally, she supports teaching and learning at the SOPH – co-teaching the ‘Qualitative research methods’ (Masters) and ‘Introducing Public Health” (postgraduate diploma) modules, facilitating academic literacies development workshops, and co-supervising master’s mini-theses.

Phoene’s previous research on adolescents’ sexual and reproductive health had explored young people’s communication of sexual consent, and the mechanisms of change of a behaviour change intervention for adolescents and young people to prevent sexual and gender-based violence. Within the LP4GT project, Phoene supports capacity strengthening and research with interventionists who connect adolescents and young people to various biomedical, behaviour change interventions, and structural support services within the ‘My Journey Program. She explores what it takes for interventionists to do this work.

Her other research has investigated how a m-health intervention works to support prevention mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV care engagement. Her social policy research explores interfaces between formal and informal systems of social protection systems.

Awards and NRF rating

• Emerging Voices for Global Health (EV4GH) fellow 2024
•  Recognized for excellence in student tutoring and academic support -University of the Western Cape (2022)
• German Exchange Academic Service (DAAD) fellow (MA [2016] and PhD [2018])