BIOSKETCH
Gina Rencken qualified as an Occupational Therapist at the University of Pretoria in 2001. She worked at Kalafong Hospital and then Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital until 2010. During this time, she qualified in sensory integration and neurodevelopmental therapy and completed a Masters degree through the University of the Free State. She commenced a career in Academia at the University of KwaZulu Natal in 2012. She has a special interest in neonates and early intervention. Gina lectures in paediatrics at the University of KwaZulu Natal, as well as on the theory course for the South African Institute for Sensory Integration. She is currently doing a PhD, looking at the neurobehavioural functioning of infants born to mothers seropositive to HIV.Gina is the module coordinator for the paediatric theory and fieldwork module and coordinates clinical services at the UKZN Occupational Therapy clinic. She is involved in school outreach programmes and empowering educators in helping children overcome barriers to learning.She is a board member of the South African Institute for Sensory Integration (SAISI), as well as the council chair for the International Council of Educators in Ayres Sensory Integration (ICE-ASI).Gina has presented at multiple congresses nationally and internationally in the fields of Occupational Therapy related to Paediatrics, Ayres Sensory Integration, Paediatric Neurology, Infant and child mental health, maternal mental health, and Early Intervention
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Peadiatrics, Early Intention
- Cerebral Palsy
- Childhood Cancer
- Sensory Integration
- Prechtl General Movements (GMA)
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health
- Neurodiversity
- Paediatric Neurology
- Maternal Mental Health
- Neurodevelopment
- ADHD
- Autism
- Genetics
- HIV
- Education
LIST OF PUBLICATIONS
- Barr, M; Naidoo, P; Rencken G. Raising a child with down’s syndrome: Perspectives from South African urban care-givers. Dec 2016 · African health sciences.
- Lauren Michelle HEPWORTH, Pragashnie Govender (nee’ Naidoo), Gina Rencken . Current trends in splinting the hand in children with neurological impairments. SAJOT 04/2017; 47(1):9-15.
- Lauren Perks, Gina Rencken, Pragashnie Govender. Therapists’ consensus on an infant massage programme for high-risk infants from resource constrained contexts: a delphi study. The South African Journal of Occupational of Occupational Therapy , Vol 50, No 3 (2020):
- Gina Rencken, Kerry Evetts, Pragashnie Govender. Clinical utility of three sensory modulation measures for the child with ASD in South Africa: A Practitioners’ Perspective. Vol 51, No 2 (2021): South African Journal of Occupational Therapy
- Sam Campbell, Gina Rencken, Pragashnie Govender, Michael Ogunlana, Ayesha Dawood. Expert opinions on Knowledge-Translation interventions for occupational therapists working with neonates in South Africa: A Delphi Study Journal: Health SA Gesondheid. ISSN: 1025-9848, E-ISSN: 2071-9736
- Annika Savage, Gina Rencken. Thavaneshnie Gurayah. “I will take my flip-flops, put them on and walk to church”: Understanding quality of life of children with cerebral palsy in a rural setting. Vol 51, issue 3 (2021). South African Journal of Occupational Therapy.
- Rencken, G., Govender, P., & Uys, C. J. E. (2022). Maternal mental health and caregiver competence of HIV-positive and negative women caring for their singleton newborns in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. South African Medical Journal, 112(7), 494-501.
- Rencken, G., Govender, P., & Uys, C. J. (2022). Neurobehavioural challenges experienced by HIV exposed infants: a study in South Africa. BMC pediatrics, 22(1), 1-12.
- York, S., Rencken, G., Ogunlana, M., Dawood, A., & Govender, P. (2022). Expert opinions on knowledge-translation interventions for occupational therapists working with neonates in South Africa: A Delphi study. Health SA Gesondheid, 27, 10 pages. doi:https://doi.org/10.4102/hsag.v27i0.1724
