EPISODE 32

Health Psychology Division Podcasts

 

In this episode, we speak with Ms Gabriela Carolus, a Research Project Manager and PhD fellow in the Division of Health Systems & Public Health at Stellenbosch University (SU). In this podcast, she shares how co-designed, community-driven “micro-stories” delivered through text, audio, and video formats can support personalised diabetes self-management.In this episode, we speak with Ms Gabriela Carolus, a Research Project Manager and PhD fellow in the Division of Health Systems & Public Health at Stellenbosch University (SU). In this podcast, she shares how co-designed, community-driven “micro-stories” delivered through text, audio, and video formats can support personalised diabetes self-management. She explains the use of AI (including RAG-based story generation, prompt engineering, AI-generated narration, and image creation) alongside rigorous human validation (medical, psychological, and communication checks) to ensure accuracy, consistency, and cultural relevance in South African contexts. She also discusses participatory design (using personas such as “Fatima” and “Jabulani”) and future directions for AI-enabled health communication, including low-data and offline content, voice assistants in local languages, safe walking-route storytelling, and community-owned digital story libraries.