Candice Bonaconsa is a researcher in the Division of Infectious Diseases and HIV Medicine at the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa since 2019. Prior to this she worked as a clinical nurse in a paediatric setting, followed by a research position with the Child Nurse Practice Development Initiative in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health (UCT).
Recently she completed work on the ASPIRES study (Antibiotic use across Surgical Pathways – Investigating, Redesigning and Evaluating Systems) conducted at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town. This was a multi-site study aimed to investigate the cultural norms, established hierarchies, team roles and methods of communication around antibiotic stewardship and infection prevention and control which operate within the surgical pathway.
Currently she is doing a PhD focused on applying novel qualitative approaches to study communication and its impact on team dynamics in relation to infection related decision making. In addition to traditional qualitative methods, she is using and developing visual methods to make visible the practice of everyday doing in clinical settings. She has a keen interest in understanding the nurse’s role in AMR within the context of the wider multidisciplinary team. She is registered nurse with a Master’s in Nursing from the University of Cape Town.
