“Bullying is a public health crisis that affects all schools in South Africa.” This is according to Dr Molekodi Matsipane, director of the School of Nursing at the North-West University (NWU).

The School of Nursing at the Mahikeng Campus, in collaboration with the Department of Basic Education, the Office of the Premier, South African Police Services (SAPS), Men for Real and the South African Ministry Fraternal (SAMIFRA), launched an anti-bullying campaign from 11 to 13 October 2021 to address the high prevalence of bullying in schools in Mahikeng.

Cardiovascular disease is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa. So says Nombulelo Zenani from the North-West University’s (NWU’s) School of Nursing.

The high prevalence of mental health problems and substance abuse among adults and young people within communities have been reported across the country, and the North West province is no exception. 

To address this problem, the North-West University’s (NWU’s) faculties of Law, Health Sciences, and Natural and Agricultural Sciences, and the North-West Department of Health, will be launching a multi-sectoral collaborative care community intervention project at the Lokaleng village in Mahikeng on 15 October 2021.

To date South Africa has recorded more than 2,8 million Covid-19 infections and administered close to 16,6 million vaccine doses.

The whole family can be affected when living with a family member with a mental disorder, disability or developmental delay. Mechanisms to cope with the resulting stress include escape, avoidance, denial or looking to religion.  This is according to Tshepang Modise, nursing science master’s graduate at North-West University (NWU).

Tshepang has conducted research titled “Coping mechanisms used by families of mental health care users (MHCU) in Mahikeng Sub-district, North West Province”.

With nearly 500 registered participants from all around the globe, the first Africa Conference on Transdisciplinarity (ACT-1) conference was a roaring success.

Is it Superman? Batman? Spiderman? No, it’s Captain Heart! He is a North-West University (NWU) Superhero on an important mission – to raise awareness about the dangers of hypertension and to inspire young children to pursue healthy eating habits.

In a little over two weeks, the Centre for Health and Human Performance (CHHP) at the North-West University (NWU), together with Autism South Africa (A; SA), will host their sixth National Autism Symposium. The South African Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions will again join as a supporting partner.

In the light of Women’s Month, we are proud of one of our own frontierswomen who is being recognised internationally for her groundbreaking work in the rainbow nation. Prof Welma Lubbe, professor in the School of Nursing Science at the North-West University (NWU), was recently approached by the Developmental Observer, the official newsletter of the NIDCAP Federation International, about her work in neurodevelopmental supportive care for premature babies.

Some children can easily process the impact of bullying behaviour, while others struggle with the aftereffects of these traumatic events for years.

Tebello Mabusela, a counselling psychologist and psychology lecturer at the North-West University (NWU), discusses some of the consequences and the real price of bullying for some victims.