Research Projects
Child growth during a global pandemic: Assessing the Indirect Effects of SARS-CoV-2 on Young Children Living in Soweto, South Africa
The study is assessing whether the indirect effects of the Sars-CoV-2 pandemic impacted child growth and wellbeing. The study is adopting a case-control study design and utilizing both primary and secondary data to compare growth and development in three groups of children. Each group will have…
Lived experiences of emergency care personnel in the Western Cape, South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal hermeneutic phenomenological study
The purpose of this study was to understand the lived experiences of emergency care personnel in the Western Cape. The study followed a longitudinal hermeneutic phenomenological approach, using one-on-one interviews to collect data. Data were analysed using Ricoeur's approach.
Investigation of the synergistic impact of Artemisia afra and Cannabis sativa against SARS-CoV-2 and PIMS, and the removal of Δ9-THC using molecular imprinted polymers (MIPS).
COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted global economies and societal systems with over 4 million confirmed cases and 285, 000 deaths as of May 15, 2020 (WHO, 2020). Despite the ever-increasing cases and the likelihood of a future outbreak, there is currently no known treatment of SARS-CoV-2. The…
Informing mitigation of the effect of non-pharmacological COVID-19 interventions on the health and well-being of school-going children in rural KwaZulu-Natal
This study is situated in uMkhanyakude district, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (SA) where the Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI) conducts annual surveillance through its Population Intervention Platform (PIP). The overarching aim of the study is to investigate the effect of non-pharmacological…
The effect of exercise among COVID 19 patients at Thulamela municipality, Limpopo.
Study objectives
To determine risk factors of COVID 19, their challenges and to determine the effect of exercise.
The study population will be Tshilidzini & Donald Fraser hospital. The research will implement exercise intervention for 2 months. The aim will be to improve…
The South African COVID-19 Surgical Outcomes Study - A patient-centred research project piloting digital health at team (micro) level
Based on estimates by the COVIDSurg Collaborative,[1] large numbers of elective surgical procedures are cancelled during the disruption caused by the pandemic. It would take a median of 45 weeks to address if a country increases the usual surgical volume by 20% after the pandemic. It is crucial to…
A COVID-19 detection home kit
The research involves developing a simple home detection kit for COVID-19. The first stage of the project involves the identification of proteins from bacteria that has a binding affinity to specific sites on the SARS-CoV2 S protein. Computational analysis will investigate the binding potential of…
DETECTION AND MONITORING OF SARS-CoV-2 RNA FRAGMENTS IN WASTEWATER USING A MALDI-TOF MASS SPECTROMETER
The purpose of this study is to develop an analytical test method for the detection and quantification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA fragments in sewer wastewater, using a MALDI-TOF mass spectrometer. With this technology, we intend to obtain test results within a few minutes, thus enabling us to confirm the…
Identification of potential SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors from South African medicinal plant
-Our team identified compounds found in South African indigenous plants that would target SARS-CoV-2 using molecular docking
-We want to now take this further and commence In vitro studies as well as in vivo rat models
Quarantuning at the time of Coronavirus
This research project looks at how Quarantine was used as a preventative measure in the fight against Covid-19. It seeks to asses the impact of Quarantine towards flattening the curve. It also delves deeper into the concept of Quarantine and how South Africans got to experience it and apply it in…
Clinical effectiveness of lopinavir in the management of Covid-19 infection and prevention.
COVID-19 also known as Coronavirus 2019, is currently declared by WHO as a new pandemic
disease caused by a single-stranded RNA zoonotic virus termed severe acute respiratory syndrome
coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (Lu et al. 2020). The complete viral genome analysis shows that the…
Establishing a national COVID 19 wastewater and non-sewer based water quality survaillance programme
Surveillance of wastewater treatment plants offers an opportunity for near–real-time outbreak data and as an early warning for resurgence of the outbreak. To date, the wastewater-based epidemiology approach has been successfully piloted in developed countries where there is wide coverage of…