Staff Profiles

MBCHB, MMed(Psych, CML

I have a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery degree and postgraduate specialization in Psychiatry . I also have a certificate in Medicine and Law from the University of Pretoria/UNISA and a certificate in AIDS Clinical Care Fundamentals. I am currently Assistant Programme Director in the department and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Perelman School of Medicine, Penn, USA. I have worked in the mental health field in Botswana for over 20 years. I have a deep understanding of the mental health problems and care system in Botswana. My interests are in Stigma, HIV/ AIDS and Mental Health, transcultural Psychiatry and Substance use. As local PI, I led the first epidemiological study on HIV/AIDS among patients with mental illness, a study supported by the Intervention Core of the Penn Mental Health Aids Research Centre (PMHARC). I am currently the UB Principal Investigator for a pilot study on the stigma of HIV and mental illness in Botswana, entitled “Developing a culture specific measure of stigma of HIV and Mental illness in Gaborone, Botswana.” I also support the MME study: “RCT to reduce stigma and improve treatment adherence in HIV+ pregnant women in Botswana”, led by Culture, Stigma and co-morbidities expert Dr Lawrence Yang, in a Co-Investigator capacity. 

• Undergraduate MBBS Psychiatry
• Postgraduate MMed Psychiatry

• HIV and Mental Health
• Stigma and Mental Health
• Substance Use

• Depression in Cancer patients
• Anxiety and depression in caregivers of children and adolescents with mental illness

1. Opondo, P. R., Ho-Foster, A. R., Ayugi, J., Hatitchki, B., Pumar, M., Bilker, W. B., ... & Evans, D. L. (2018). HIV prevalence among hospitalized patients at the main psychiatric referral hospital in Botswana. AIDS and Behavior, 22(5), 1503-1516.
2. Opondo, P. R., Molebatsi, K., Olashore, A., Ayugi, J., Ho-Foster, A., & Ndetei, D. (2018). Mythical and supernatural creatures in psychiatric symptomatology: Thokolosi in Southern Africa. International Journal of Culture and Mental Health, 11(3), 248-254
3. Olashore, A. A., Ogunwobi, O., Totego, E., & Opondo, P. R. (2018). Psychoactive substance use among first-year students in a Botswana University: pattern and demographic correlates. BMC psychiatry, 18(1), 270
4. Opondo, P. R., Olashore, A. A., Molebatsi, K., Othieno, C. J., & Ayugi, J. O. (2020). Mental health research in Botswana: a semi-systematic scoping review. Journal of International Medical Research, 48(10), 0300060520966458.