Zamakhanya Makhanya

Research Officer

Research Interests

  • Mental Health Reform and Public Health Policy
  • Evidence-Based Interventions in Parenting and Child Well-Being
  • Intersection of Social Policy, Clinical Psychology, and Public Health. 

Biography

Zamakhanya Makhanya is an accomplished mental health professional and researcher, holding a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, and a Master of Public Health in Community Health Sciences from Tulane University, USA. She is currently pursuing her DPhil at the University of Oxford’s Department of Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation, focusing on enhancing digital parenting interventions to support mental health, particularly in underserved communities.

Zamakhanya’s professional journey has been defined by her dedication to improving mental health outcomes, especially in marginalised populations. She works as a Research Officer at the Centre for Social Science Research at the University of Cape Town, contributing to the ParentText studies. In this role, she has focused on two key projects: optimising a parenting chatbot to enhance its effectiveness and assessing the impact of a digital-only parenting chatbot. Both studies aim to reduce violence against children and support parental well-being in South Africa. She has also served as a trial psychologist on an adolescent depression randomised control trial at the MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit. Her contributions to optimising digital mental health interventions align with her broader commitment to evidence-based approaches.

Zamakhanya is passionate about translating her research into practical, scalable interventions that promote equitable access to mental health care, with a particular focus on fostering resilience in rural and disadvantaged communities.    

 Zamakhanya Makhanya's CV

Recent Publications

  • Makhanya, Z., et al. (N.D.). An online peer supporter programme delivering a digital mental health intervention addressing depression amongst adolescents in South Africa and Uganda: evaluating feasibility, acceptability, and fidelity. Manuscript in preparation
  • Moffett, B. D.*, Pozuelo, J.R.*, Makhanya, Z. et al. (N.D.). Digital delivery of Behavioural Activation to overcome depression and facilitate social and economic transitions of adolescents in South Africa (the DoBAt Study): results of a pilot randomised controlled trial. Manuscript in preparation.
  • Moffett, B. D. et al. (2022). Digital delivery of behavioural activation therapy to overcome depression and facilitate social and economic transitions of adolescents in South Africa (the DoBAt study): protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial. BMJ open, 12(12), e065977