Kebope Mongie Kealeboga is a lecturer at the University of Botswana (UB) in the Faculty of Health Sciences School of Nursing. She obtained her BNS at UB in 2003, Master of Nursing (in Mental Health) at The University of Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa in 2010 and PhD in Nursing at the North-West University Mafikeng, South Africa in 2024. She also holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Higher Education from Botho University (2019). Dr. Kealeboga taught postgraduate diploma nurses at the country’s only Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing Department before joining the UB in 2020. In her master’s research, Dr. Kealeboga explored the causes of and management of aggression by nurses in inpatient mental health settings while in her PhD studies, she developed a recovery-oriented care programme for nurses working in mental health care settings. She published three articles in accredited journals from her PhD study and overall has six published articles and one book chapter. Dr. Kealeboga has participated in research proceedings locally and internationally as a speaker, organizer, moderator, and participant.
As a Global Mental Health Scholar, Dr. Kealeboga will support the Safe Haven Project in Botswana, which aims to advance the World Health Organization and Botswana’s youth mental health agenda seeking to integrate mental health and psychosocial support into existing health services through established Youth Friendly Services. Dr. Kealeboga further intends to expand the services offered at Safe Haven to other areas of the country. This entails collaborating with stakeholders (including the Ministry of Health, Head of District Health Teams, and Community Leaders) and recruiting and educating nurses and peer lay counselors at the Youth Friendly Services on how to screen and provide brief mental health interventions and create referral channels for those in need. Dr. Kealeboga will also explore areas such as establishing community support groups/gatekeepers for mental health and capacitating parents on issues of mental health to facilitate their understanding of mental health challenges faced by adolescents and how to respond to such.
Overall, Dr. Kealeboga hopes to bridge the gap that exists in the care of adolescent mental health problems and collaborate with other institutions in the country and beyond through research to push the mental health agenda in the country, especially that of the youth. Findings from the research conducted will be shared with the international community through presentations and journal publications.