Well-being, performance and the challenges of modern life

 Is there really a problem?

The benefits of exercise, a healthy diet and a balanced lifestyle are undisputed in modern life, and the positive impact these have on well-being and performance is no secret.

Yet obesity and weight problems have reached epidemic proportions globally. According to the World Health Organisation, at…

Finding meaning in life after several losses experienced as a result of Covid-19

All over the world the coronavirus pandemic has created a new, unknown and challenging reality that is accompanied by various significant losses. Such losses are far more than just the financial impact on individuals – they also include other losses that have an impact on our mental health.

Weddings are cancelled or postponed, we are…

This is why you have been struggling to sleep

If you log on to any social media platform in the early hours of the morning you are likely to find a lot of people online. Since the country went into lockdown due to Covid-19 a few weeks ago, South Africans have been struggling to fall asleep.

Prof Pieter Kruger, a consultant clinical psychologist and director of the NWU’s Centre…

NWU neonatal expert paves the way forward

When it comes to midwifery, neonatal care and nursing research, the name of North-West University’s Prof Welma Lubbe is the first that comes to mind.

As a dedicated researcher and founder of Little Steps – a research-based parenting website – Prof Lubbe was recently appointed for a third term (of five years each) as the South African…

NWU teams set assistance to NW Health in motion

Epidemiological and technical assistance against COVID-19 is the latest contribution in the collaboration between the North-West University and the North West Department of Health (NWDoH).

This entails the NWU drafting scenarios and assisting with an online inventory management system for personal protective equipment and a campaign…

Restriction strategy allows SA valuable time to prepare – NWU virologist

As South Africa prepares to ease restrictions aimed at preventing the spread of Covid-19, a North-West University (NWU) virologist, Prof Albie van Dijk, shares her views on the country’s fight against the pandemic.

Prof Van Dijk is a lecturer and researcher in the Biochemistry subject group at the NWU’s campus in Potchefstroom, and…

The relationship between gender-based violence and HIV/Aids

The link between gender-based violence (GBV) and HIV/Aids is usually rooted in the power imbalance between men and women.

This was one of the findings of research conducted by Goitseone Leburu, whose master’s and doctoral studies, both from the North-West University (NWU), revolved around different aspects of GBV.  

Her…

Life goes on, death happens: loss and grief in a time of Covid-19

Across the world the Covid-19 pandemic has changed our assumptive worlds drastically, yet life continues to happen. Babies are born, people develop health conditions that are not related to Covid-19, others reach milestone birthdays, while others die.

Dr Nelia Drenth and Prof Alida Herbst of the NWU’s School of Psychosocial Health…

NWU assists provincial Health in curbing COVID-19

The North-West University (NWU) and the North West Department of Health (NWDoH) are joining hands in the fight against the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, known as COVID-19.

The department’s deputy director-general, Mr Polaki Mokatsane, approached the NWU to assist with strategic information, guidance and…

NWU to validate new Covid-19 test

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc locally and internationally, NWU’s experts have been roped in to assist with the validation of a new test in the fight against it.

The new test is being developed by a wholly owned South African pharmaceutical company, Austell Pharmaceuticals (Pty) Ltd. It is anticipated that this…