Brief Academic Biography
Prof. Roomaney completed her undergraduate studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, majoring in Psychology and Sociology. She then completed her honours degree at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) and a counselling internship at the South African National Institute for Crime Prevention and the Reintegration of Offenders (NICRO), leading to a registration as a registered counsellor with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). Prof. Roomaney completed her MA Research Psychology at UWC and her research internship at the South African Medical Research Council as a National Research Foundation intern prior to registering as a research psychologist with the HPCSA. She then obtained her PhD in 2017 at Stellenbosch University.
Research
Research Topics
- Health-related quality of life
- Women’s health (including conditions such as endometriosis, female cancers, polycystic ovaries, premenstrual dysphoric disorder)
- Online health-seeking behaviour
- Measurement construction
- Mixed methods research
About my Research
Prof. Roomaney is a NRF Y1 rated researchers and conducts most of her research in the field of health psychology. She is interested in the psychological, behavioural and social aspects of illness, health and healthcare. While her research is mostly centred on women’s health, she is open to collaborating on a wide range of topics within the field. She has supervised students on several topics including breast cancer, gynaecological cancers, endometriosis, premenstrual dysphoric disorder and polycystic ovarian syndrome. She has a growing interest in how patient populations use online spaces in relation to their health behaviours and health cyber psychology. Prof. Roomaney is the national delegate for South Africa at the European Health Psychology Society and is chair of the Health Psychology Division of the Psychological Society of South Africa.
Selected Publications
Spyrelis, A., Sibande, Z. N., Loades, M. E.., & Roomaney, R. “I just want to stay here and sleep forever”: South African patients’ lived experiences of chronic fatigue in endometriosis. South African Journal of Psychology, accepted and available online.
Eder, C., & Roomaney, R. Transgender and Non-Binary People’s Perception of their Healthcare in Relation to Endometriosis. International Journal of Transgender Health, accepted and available online. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/26895269.2023.2286268#:~:text=people%20with%20endometriosis.-,Conclusion,health%20care%20for%20their%20endometriosis.
Roomaney, R., & Mitchell, H. Psychometric properties of the Stellenbosch Endometriosis Quality Of Life (SEQOL) measure among endometriosis patients in the United Kingdom. Journal of Nursing Measurement, accepted and in press.
Mpongwana-Ncetani, S., Lachman, A., & Roomaney, R. (2023). Experiences of Xhosa women providing Kangaroo mother care in a tertiary hospital in the Western Cape, South Africa. South African Journal of Psychology, 53(4), 497-508. doi:10.1177/00812463231193167
Roomaney, R., & Popovac, M. (2023). Psychosocial correlates of well-being among people who engage in online health-seeking behaviour. South African Journal of Psychology, 53(4), 509-520. doi:10.1177/00812463231186335
Roomaney, R., Coetzee, B. J., Smith, P., & Daniels, J. (2023). Women’s experience of managing fatigue during breast cancer treatment: strategies from patients in a low resource setting. Social and Health Sciences journal, 21(1&2), https://doi.org/10.25159/2957-3645/11102
Purdy, C., & Roomaney, R. (2023). Fertility preservation among women diagnosed with cancer in South Africa. South African Journal of Psychology, 53(4), 484-496. doi:10.1177/00812463231191437
Williams, R. C., Simonds, H., & Roomaney, R. (2023). Knowledge, misinformation, stigma and disclosure hesitancy among women receiving curative treatment for cervical cancer at a tertiary hospital in South Africa. South African Journal of Psychology, 53(3):315-326. doi:10.1177/00812463221148323
Coetzee, B. J., Vogel, L. S., Sander, S., Field, C., Kagee, A., & Roomaney, R. (2023). Re-visiting the relevance and importance of Health Psychology in South Africa. South African Journal of Psychology, 53(1):57-67. doi:10.1177/00812463221094728.
Roomaney, R., & Mitchell, H. (2022). Psychosocial correlates of symptoms of depression among patients with endometriosis in the United Kingdom. Women & health, 62(9-10), 764–774. https://doi.org/10.1080/03630242.2022.2144985
Popovac, M., & Roomaney, R. (2022). Measuring Online Health Seeking Behavior: Construction and Initial Validation of a New Scale. British Journal of Health Psychology, 27(3), 756–776. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjhp.12571
Smit, A., Roomaney, R., Swartz, L., & Coetzee, B. J. (2022). Understanding the subjective experiences of South African women with recurrent breast cancer: A qualitative study. Journal of Health Psychology, 27(8), 1959–1970. https://doi.org/10.1177/13591053211002236
Sibande, Z., & Roomaney, R. (2022). Fatigue management strategies among women with endometriosis in South Africa: A qualitative study. South African Journal of Psychology, 52(1), 36-47. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F00812463211020173
Swinny, C., Kagee, A., & Roomaney, R. (2022). Delayed help-seeking for symptomatic breast cancer: reasons for delay among participants receiving treatment at a public healthcare facility in South Africa. South African Journal of Psychology, 52(1), 87-98. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0081246321992477
Salie, M., Roomaney, R., Andipatin, M., & Volks, C. (2021). Scoping review of the psychosocial aspects of infertility in developing countries: protocol. BMJ Open, 11(5). https://doi.org/10.1136/BMJOPEN-2020-044003
Gallagher-Squires, C., Roomaney, R., & Kagee, A. (2021). Cognitive coping strategies of South African women in breast cancer care. South African Journal of Psychology, 51(4), 485-495.
Smit, A., Swartz, L., Bantjes, J., Roomaney, R. & Coetzee, B. (2021). Moving Beyond Text-and-Talk in Qualitative Health Research: Methodological Considerations of Using Multiple Media for Data Collection. Qualitative Health Research, 31(3), 600–614.
Roomaney, R., & Lourens, A. (2020). Correlates of premenstrual dysphoric disorder among female university students. Cogent Psychology, 7(1), 1823608, DOI: 10.1080/23311908.2020.1823608.
König, L. M., Roomaney, R., & Cipolletta, S. (2020). Health psychologists’ responses to Covid-19, as reported by the National Delegates of the European Health Psychology Society (position paper). The European Health Psychologist, 21(3), 663-669.
Roomaney, R., Kagee, A., & Heylen, S. (2020). Biopsychosocial predictors of symptoms of depression in a sample of South African women diagnosed with endometriosis. Healthcare for Women International, 41(3), 308-329.
Andipatin, M. G., Naidoo, A. D., & Roomaney, R. (2019). The hegemonic role of biomedical discourses in the construction of pregnancy loss. Women and Birth, 32(6), e552-e559 [I.F. 2.079]
Smit, A., Coetzee, B. J., Roomaney, R., Bradshaw, M. & Swartz, L. (2019). Women’s stories of living with breast cancer: A systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative evidence. Social Science and Medicine, 222, 231-245
Roomaney, R. & Kagee, A. (2018). The construction and validation of the Stellenbosch Endometriosis Quality of life measure (SEQOL). Healthcare for women international, 39(10), 1123-1139, DOI: 10.1080/07399332.2018.1455684.
Roomaney, R. & Kagee, A. (2018). Salient aspects of quality of life among women diagnosed with endometriosis: A qualitative study. Journal of Health Psychology, 23(7), 905-916
Roomaney, R., Naidoo, A. D., & Andipatin, M. (2014). An exploratory study into the psychological experience of HELLP syndrome in South African women. Health SA Gesondheid, 19(1).
Teaching
Coordination of Programmes and Modules
Data analysis in psychology (PSY253)
Psychometry (PSY741)
Research methodology in Public Mental Health
Teaching Areas
I am trained in research methodology and mostly lecture quantitative data analysis to undergraduate students and psychometry and research methodology to postgraduate students.
I work with several postgraduate students on their research projects.
Website and Other Relevant Links
https://scholar.google.co.za/citations?user=B2W6Og0AAAAJ&hl=en