Objective: Rising incidence of acquired multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in South Africa suggests low knowledge and implementation of infection prevention and control strategies in household and congregate settings. This study contributes to the under-researched area of non-biomedical responses to sub-adherence to treatment. Design: The…

Rates of pediatric human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as well as mortality and morbidity related to HIV and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) depend, in part, on the resources available in the child's country. HIV prevention and intervention efforts also are influenced by cultural factors. The purpose of this article is to summarize key…

The trends in higher education's post-pandemic recovery and towards sustainability are not new concepts and are still being discussed in various contexts. Evidence shows that higher education suffered greatly from the pandemic due to closures of institutions. Hence, more post-pandemic studies are necessary to understand its effects and how…

Despite the often-crucial roles played by music within theatre-based public health promotion strategies, theoretical explorations regarding music within applied theatre literatures remain largely underdeveloped. This article highlights musicking -- a reconceptualization of music from an object to a participatory act that can profoundly influence…

The COVID-19 pandemic is the largest social and economic shock of our lifetimes. As governments grapple with their responses to the virus, more than half the world's countries have closed their schools and severely limited almost all forms of public life. This will have a profound impact on children, both now and in the decade to come. As many…

Given the range of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) products currently being tested to prevent HIV in women, a standardized Acceptability and Use of PrEP Products Among Women Tool may facilitate comparisons of product acceptability and use across different geographies, trials, and users. We conducted three rounds of cognitive interviewing over…

South Africa, like many countries, has high numbers of learners who do not complete secondary schooling. This reduces these young people's chances of finding work or of earning a better salary. It is thus important to understand the factors that contribute to high school dropout. In the study reported on here we investigated the factors that…

In sub-Saharan Africa over 52 million children are living with the death of one or both parents. Drivers of this parental mortality include afflictions at levels endemic to the region, including: HIV; malaria and other parasites; lower respiratory infections; diarrhoeal illnesses; and road accidents, among others. This paper examines the impact of…

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) resulted in South Africa's shelter-in-place lockdown. South Africa is vulnerable to the negative outcomes of COVID-19 due to health systems inequalities, high prevalence of human immunodeficiency viruses, tuberculosis and the growing burden of non-communicable diseases. Conducting scientifically…

The school setting, identified as a creative and cost effective way for improving oral health, provides an ideal opportunity for preventing oral diseases in the influential stages of a child's life when lifelong beliefs, attitudes and skills are developed. Although oral health has been included in the Integrated School Health Policy, there is a…

In this snapshot, I discuss the potential value of gardening as a reciprocal research method. I draw on my experience of partnering with a school in establishing and supporting an ongoing primary school vegetable garden, as part of a long-term research project. I suggest that the garden creates a space in which to "talk around" the…

South Africa, like the rest of the world, was affected by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. From March 2020, the country's president, Cyril Ramaphosa, imposed lockdown regulations in an attempt to curb the spread of the coronavirus, which led to the closure of universities. When the national regulations allowed for the resumption of…

General legislation as well as legislation specifically regulating education in South Africa is aimed at the protection and advancement of the best interests of children (learners). Developments in the school education sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, which reached the shores of South Africa in March 2020, starkly underscored that not only the…

While all students are affected by the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, the first-year student population remains a special category of vulnerability for higher education. This is on account of the way the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted their transition into university and complicated the nature of their entry into and through the formal academic…

This paper is a personal reflection that seeks to capture most of the observable changes that have taken place in South Africa and in its public university system as a consequence of the sudden and global spread of the novel coronavirus. The purpose for doing so is to provide a record of how the South African university sector has responded to the…