Dr. Alison Van Kwawegen

Alison Van Kwawegen is a South African clinician-researcher in neonatology and pediatric infectious diseases, closely associated with tertiary academic hospitals including Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital. Her work centers on improving neonatal and child health outcomes in resource-constrained settings, with particular emphasis on infection prevention, antimicrobial stewardship, and critical neonatal care.

Her research demonstrates sustained engagement in antimicrobial prescribing practices across pediatric and neonatal populations. Through point prevalence surveys and implementation studies, she has examined drivers of healthcare-associated infections, age-related prescribing patterns, and the uptake of stewardship interventions. Recent work on multidisciplinary antimicrobial stewardship in neonatal units highlights expertise in implementation science and systems-based quality improvement.

Van Kwawegen has also contributed to understanding severe neonatal conditions, including hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, Listeria bloodstream infections, SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks in neonatal wards, and meconium aspiration syndrome. Collectively, these studies underscore strengths in clinical epidemiology, outbreak investigation, and pragmatic interventions aimed at strengthening infection control and improving survival in low- and middle-income contexts.