Botha Michelle, Ohajunwa Chioma
Division of Disability and Rehabilitation Studies, Department of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Africa Centre for HIV and AIDS Management, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Afr J Disabil. 2024 Aug 29;13:1494. doi: 10.4102/ajod.v13i0.1494. eCollection 2024.
A pre-conference workshop that investigated the experiences and needs of PhD candidates and early career researchers in disability studies in Africa was held as part of the proceedings of the African Network for Evidence to Action in Disability (AfriNEAD) 7th Conference in November 2023.
To determine how the existing structures in AfriINEAD can be leveraged to support emerging African disability researchers. This article documents this event and summarises the key findings from the discussions that took place.
The workshop included presentations from leading scholars in health professions education, panel discussions with PhD candidates and early career researchers, and small group discussions on what is needed to support emerging researchers.
Disability studies was positioned by participants as not only an academic exercise but also a deeply personal pursuit, requiring introspection and conscientisation, with which they felt they needed support. There are also specific ethical concerns related to doing research work with persons with disabilities, which need to be prioritised in postgraduate education in disability studies. The needs identified by participants are summarised as: (1) mentorship, (2) networking, and (3) funding.
We suggest that the development of African disability scholars and scholarship requires an African ethical approach, which prioritises humanity, community and reciprocity.
African disability studies scholars are well-placed to disrupt ableism in academic, medical and social spheres, as well as hierarchies within academia, which limit development, mutual growth and respect.
作为2023年11月非洲残疾问题循证行动网络（AfriNEAD）第七届会议议程的一部分，举办了一次会前研讨会，探讨非洲残疾研究领域博士生和早期职业研究人员的经历与需求。
确定如何利用AfriINEAD的现有架构来支持非洲新兴的残疾研究人员。本文记录了此次活动，并总结了讨论中的主要发现。
研讨会包括卫生专业教育领域知名学者的演讲、与博士生和早期职业研究人员的小组讨论，以及关于支持新兴研究人员所需条件的小组讨论。
参与者认为残疾研究不仅是一项学术活动，更是一项深刻的个人追求，需要内省和觉悟，他们觉得自己在这方面需要支持。在残疾研究的研究生教育中，还需要优先考虑与残疾人开展研究工作相关的特定伦理问题。参与者提出的需求总结如下：（1）指导；（2）建立联系；（3）资金。
我们建议，非洲残疾学者和学术研究的发展需要一种非洲伦理方法，该方法将人性、社区和互惠放在首位。
非洲残疾研究学者能够在学术、医学和社会领域打破能力主义，以及打破学术界内部限制发展、共同成长和尊重的等级制度。
