Prof Andrit Lourens

Dr Andrit Lourens is an Associate Professor in Emergency Medical Care at the Namibia University of Science and Technology, specialising in emergency medical services, acute pain management, and evidence-based practice. She holds a PhD in Emergency Medicine from the University of Cape Town, an MSc in Clinical Epidemiology (Cum Laude) from Stellenbosch University, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Research Supervision (Distinction) from the University of Johannesburg. 

With 29 years of experience in EMS and extensive academic and research leadership, she has published in peer-reviewed journals, contributed to clinical guideline development, and supervises postgraduate research across Honours, Master's, and PhD levels. Dr Lourens also serves as an Honorary Research Affiliate in the Division of Emergency Medicine at the University of Cape Town (2024–2026). 

Research Focus Areas/Interests: 

• Evidence synthesis, clinical research, and clinical practice guideline development to advance emergency care.
• Acute pain assessment and management, advanced airway interventions, trauma care, and critical care transport.
• Translation of research evidence into clinical practice to strengthen patient outcomes, safety, and emergency care systems in Africa.
• Postgraduate research capacity building (Honours, Master’s, and PhD supervision).
• Collaborative research networks to drive emergency care innovation and system improvement.

Teaching: 

• Undergraduate: ICU and Critical Care Transport 
• Postgraduate: Research Methodology and Mini-Thesis 

Publications: 

Thesis: 

• Lourens, A. (2020). Developing an in-depth understanding of acute pain assessment and management in the prehospital setting in the Western Cape, South Africa: The factors influencing practice and what improvement measures could advance prehospital acute pain management (Doctoral dissertation, University of Cape Town). University of Cape Town Open Access Repository. https://open.uct.ac.za/handle/11427/32775 

Book Chapters:

• Park-Ross, J., Parker, R., Hodkinson, P., Bedwell, G., Dunn, C., Salie, S., Allorto, N., Carolus, S., Salloo, A., Marchant, S., Naidoo, P., Ndebele, N., Mqungo, S., Chetty, J., Lahri, S., Lourens, A., Setshedi, M., Evans, K. (2024). Section 4: Prehospital and emergency pain. In Parker P, Park-Ross J. Understanding Pain: Unravelling the Physiology, Assessment and Treatment of Pain through South African Stories (pp. 198-260). Cape Town: University of Cape Town Press. https://doi.org/10.15641/978-0-7961-8936-3 

Peer-reviewed Journal Articles: 

1. McCaul, M., Lourens, A., & Kredo, T. (2014). Pre-hospital versus in-hospital thrombolysis for ST-elevation myocardial infarction. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2014(9), CD010191. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD010191.pub2 
2. Lourens, A., Botha J.C. (2014). Hypertonic Saline (HTS) versus Standard (Isotonic) Fluid Therapy for Traumatic Brain Injuries: A Systematic Review. African Journal of Emergency Medicine, 4(4), 188-194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.afjem.2014.03.003 
3. McCaul, M., Lourens, A., & Kredo, T. (2015). Cochrane corner: prehospital versus in-hospital thrombolysis for ST-elevation myocardial infarction. Heart (British Cardiac Society), 101(23), 1857–1858. https://doi.org/10.1136/heartjnl-2015-307779 
4. Lourens, A., McCaul, M., Parker, R., Hodkinson, P. (2019). Acute Pain in the African Prehospital Setting: A Scoping Review. Pain Research and Management, 2019, 2304507. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/2304507 
5. Lourens, A., Hodkinson, P., & Parker, R. (2020). Acute pain assessment and management in the prehospital setting, in the Western Cape, South Africa: A Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Survey. BMC Emergency Medicine, 20(1), 31. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12873-020-00315-0 
6. Lourens, A., Parker, R., Hodkinson, P. (2020). Prehospital acute traumatic pain assessment and management in the Western Cape, South Africa: a retrospective review. International Journal of Emergency Medicine, 13(1), 21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12245-020-00278-w 
7. Lourens, A., McCaul, M., Parker, R., & Hodkinson P. (2021). Emergency care providers' perspectives of acute pain assessment and management in the prehospital setting, in the Western Cape, South Africa: a qualitative study. International Emergency Nursing, 58, 101042. https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1dUck_,3-UIh3pm 
8. Botha, J.C., Lourens, A., & Stassen, W. (2-21). Rapid Sequence Intubation: A survey of current practice in the South African pre-hospital setting. International Journal of Emergency Medicine, 14(1), 45. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12245-021-00368-3 
9. Parker, R., Bedwell, G.J., Hodkinson, P., Lourens, A., & Setshedi M. (2021). Managing Acute Abdominal Pain in the Emergency Centre: lessons from a patient’s experience. African Journal of Emergency Medicine, 11(4), 483-486. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.afjem.2021.06.00 
10. Ambunda, P., & Lourens, A. (2022). Severe traumatic brain injuries secondary to motor vehicle crashes in two Namibian regions: A retrospective review. African Journal of Emergency Medicine, 12(3), 225–230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.afjem.2022.04.009 
11. Mukisa, G. W., Shumba, T. W., & Lourens, A. (2024). Policy framework that addresses malnutrition in Namibia: A retrospective qualitative review. Nutrition and Health, 30(1), 39–48. https://doi.org/10.1177/02601060231185815 
12. Mukisa, G.W., Shumba, T.W., & Lourens, A. (2024). Determinants of undernutrition in children under five years in the Southern Africa sub-region: a scoping review. Journal of Health Research, 38(2). https://doi.org/10.56808/2586-940X.1074 
13. Lourens, A., Sinclair, M., Willems, B., & Young, T. (2024). Education, incentive, and engineering-based interventions to promote the use of seat belts. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 1(1), CD011218. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD011218.pub2 
14. Swanepoel, L. M., Brand, A., Lourens, A., Schoonees, A., & McCaul, M. (2025). Methods resources for authors new to conducting systematic reviews with network meta-analysis: A Scoping Review. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 111759. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2025.111759 
15. Mukisa, G.W., Lourens, A., Shumba, T.W. (2025). Perceptions on Child Feeding Practices Among Mothers of Children Under Five in Namibia: A Qualitative Study. South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Accepted for Publication). 

Conference Papers:

• Campbell, C., Shaikh, L., Kuhne, J., Castle, N., Pillay, B., Lourens, A., Pillay, Y., Howard, I., Govender, P., Sayo, J. and Ramos, R. (2016). Evidence-based medicine (EBM) in pre-hospital care: Our 4-year experience in designing and implementing Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG). Journal of Emergency Medicine, Trauma and Acute Care, Volume 2016, Issue 2 - International Conference in Emergency Medicine and Public Health-Qatar Proceedings, 75. https://10.5339/jemtac.2016.icepq.75.