Challenges, controversies and emerging issues within research ethics came under the spotlight during the institution’s Annual Research Ethics Day.

Lets’ talk Ethics was the main theme of this year’s event, which included a discussion session between the audience and a panel of experts consisting of Prof Penelope Engel-Hills (Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences), Dr Navindhra Naidoo (Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences), Prof Izak van Zyl (Faculty of Informatics and Design), Siyabulela Sabata (Fundani) and Prof Nic Theo (Faculty of Informatics and Design.

“Research ethics and integrity as well as responsible research conduct are critical to all research effected at CPUT. We as an Institute acknowledge our responsibility to facilitate, safeguard and promote these principles in creating an awareness that it is everyone’s responsibility at CPUT,” said Dr Hester Burger, senior researcher in the Institute for Biomedical and Microbial Biotechnology.

Researchers from across the institution were invited to the event by the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Technology Innovation and Partnerships.

The event included a plenary talk titled Let stories breathe…..ethically by Dr Candice Livingston from the Faculty of Education. Livingston also chairs the Faculty’s Research Ethics Committee (FREC).

This was followed by a special breakaway session, Ethics ER (emergency room), where each CPUT FREC held information sessions to discuss specific research ethics issues within a specific field.

“The CPUT community has ample knowledgeable and experienced experts in research ethics that we as an Institute can tap into, and it was really a privilege to hear from these. The panel discussions were provocative, insightful and informative. We were also reminded about new developments in research ethics and the challenges ahead to improve our continued support and commitment to ethics at an Institutional level. More opportunities to engage on research ethics should be created where the necessary space is provided to hear the voices of all stakeholders,” said Burger.

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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The Radiation Oncology Department at Groote Schuur Hospital in collaboration with Radiography at CPUT recently held a joint Open Day.

On 17 March 2010, five schools from the Western Cape and individuals from as far afield as Worcester and Villiersdorp descended on the Groote Schuur Campus, seeking more information about radiography and in particular radiotherapy.

The day was dedicated to the learners and CPUT’s first year students while second and third years assisted as marshals and tour guides.

The radiation therapy professionals who are already qualified and working at the hospital explained to school learners and first year students what their profession entails.

The Centre of Science and Technology (Cosat), Wittebome High School, Islamiah College, Masiphumelele High School and Garlandale High School were among the high schools that attended the Open Day.

Radiography is made up of four disciplines: Diagnostic Radiography, Nuclear Medicine, Ultrasound and Radiation Therapy.

The Senior Lecturer Prof Penelope Engel-Hills said: “Radiation Therapy is still a relatively unknown specialist discipline. The Open Day is giving us a chance to show-case to various communities out there that this is a good career option.”

The learners were taken to various stations, which included Out-patient Clinic areas, the Mould Room and the Linear Accelerator treatment unit, among others.

Jamie-Lee van Niekerk, a second-year Radiotherapy student and one of the marshals, said: “It has been great to assist the learners. All the groups I was dealing with were very enthusiastic as they asked a lot of questions.”

The Open Day was also open to first year Radiography students who all need to know about radiation oncology. Some may decide to swop to radiotherapy from another category since the first year is nearly the same for all four types of radiography.

“Putting together the Open Day was a team effort, but a special mention goes to Mrs Liz Greeff and her team of radiation therapists at Groote Schuur Hospital who put in so much effort and hard work to promote the profession. Two of our lecturers Liezel Hudson and Bridget Wyrley-Birch also deserve thanks for their major contribution,” said Dr Engel-Hills.

The department particularly targeted schools that are science and mathematics strong, which is in line with the department’s minimum requirements.

Wyrley-Birch said: “I am very happy with the quality of the Open Day. It really exceeded our expectations. Organising this was a team effort. The number of applications we are going to receive will determine whether the learners were impressed or not.”

Information regarding salary scales, job opportunities and approximate numbers of positions for Radiation Therapists in the country was provided to the learners.

Sabeeha Khamissa, a second-year student and tour guide, said through providing the learners with information, she also learnt a lot.

“The learners were asking a lot of questions that required us to think on our feet,” she said.

Although this is the first Radiation Oncology Open Day in fifteen years, the department holds tours once a month throughout the year that include all Radiography disciplines at no cost. All learners are welcome.

By Andiswa Dantile

Photograph: Learners find out more about radiation therapy as a career at Radiation Oncology Open Day.

Written by CPUT News
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A conference which empowered young women in higher education with skills such as entrepreneurship, self-defence and personal branding was recently held on the Bellville Campus.

The two-day conference, which was hosted by the HIV/Aids Unit, was attended by approximately 300 female students from universities and TVET Colleges around the Western Cape.
Prof Nomafrench Mbombo, Western Cape Health MEC, told the young women to be wary of risky sexual activities as it could lead to their downfall such as unwanted pregnancies, sexual transmitted infections and abusive relationships.
“Girls are groomed for men’s sexual gratification,” she said.

Mbombo decried the patriarchal environment which raises boys differently from girls and added that young women sometimes feel the pressure to have children in order to please or gain hold over their men and that transactional sex is a common practice these days as women wants to live the good life. 

Acting Dean: Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences, Prof Penelope Engel-Hills, said she works with communities around issues of gender-based violence. 
“In this country women are not well at the moment and this means that the society at large is ill,” said Engel-Hills.

HEAIDS Project Manager, Alex Semba, said the conference was a platform for the delegates to network with each other.
Semba discussed the programmes that HEAIDS is providing to universities and colleges to address the ‘blessing’ culture in a bid to reduce HIV infections among women between the ages of 15 and 24 by 30%.
He said health and wellness is important in order for higher education institutions to perform their core functions of teaching, research and community engagement. 
During the conference the delegates received goodie bags and spot prizes, and were equipped with a range of skills including personal safety, entrepreneurship and leadership.

Written by Kwanele Butana
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A Swedish student’s research towards her Master’s degree has highlighted the extent of food insecurity in certain communities on the south peninsula. 

Helena Römmelman from Karlstad University recently visited the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences in Bellville where she presented her study.

It is titled Vulnerability to Social Risks through the Lens of Food Security. A mixed methods study at the Household level in Cape Town, South Africa.

She focused on three communities: Masiphumelele, Ocean View and Kommetjie.

A sample of 902 households was surveyed while focus group interviews were also conducted.

Among other things, her research found that while the experiences in Kommetjie indicate generally food-secure households, this was not the case in the other two communities.

“All in all, 22% of the households in Kommetjie have experienced food insecurity to some extent, compared to 85.2% in Masiphumelele and 88.1% in Ocean View,” the study stated.

Römmelman said she had not expected the situation to be so dire.

“I had expected there to be some food insecure households because, for example, in a place like Masiphumelele the poverty is very visible so you expect some food insecurity but I didn’t expect it to be to this extent. I learnt so much. I was very inspired by the strength that people show in these communities and how hard they are working to improve their lives.”

She recently returned to the communities to provide feedback on her work.

Prof Penelope Engel-Hills, Acting Dean of the Faculty, said Römmelman’s work was linked to an NRF/ STINT funded project, which Engel-Hills is collaborating on with Prof Hilde Ibsen from the University of Karlstad.

Their study is titled Internationalisation for Knowledge Partnership and Social Transformation.

“Helena was supervised by Prof Ibsen. She used a methodology that we are promoting within a community-based environment. Our project is set in Ocean View, which is one the communities that Helena looked at and so we were able to give her some funding for her to return to Cape Town to give feedback to communities, which is an important part of our research cycle within community-based research.”

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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CPUT and the University of Karlstad in Sweden are collaborating on a new community-based research project with a focus on gender-based violence (GBV). 

Prof Penelope Engel-Hills, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences is the South African principal investigator on the study titled: Internationalisation for Knowledge Partnership and Social Transformation.

Funding for the project was received from the National Research Foundation (NRF) and the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education (STINT).
“Our project has two legs. One is community-based research with a focus on GBV and the other is capacity-building for improved research skills for postgraduate students, supervisors and researchers using the community-based research approach,” said Engel-Hills.

The research will be carried out in a community on the south peninsula.
“An NGO in the community has come on board and we’ll be working with women in the community to look at what the community responses are to gender-based violence.”
Engel-Hills said there were NGOs and ordinary residents in the community who were offering counselling, employment and other options for women who had been affected by GBV.

“There is a lot of work being done but what we understood from the community is that they would like to know what works and what more they can do. We want to try to drive change through research and model ways that communities can positively respond to violence. Once we’ve looked at all the options we’ll consider implementing a new idea in the community. It’s all about what is right for that community and what they want.”

In terms of capacity building, the project aims to develop skills in innovative research methods and promote ethical awareness that will enable research in communities.
“We will be running workshops. We have already run a pilot at CPUT for our postgraduate students and we’re looking at two things. The first is the ethical dimensions of research in communities such as this one. The second is methodology. So we’ll put experts together and to do the training innovative ways.”

Engel-Hills said the researchers were hoping that through gathering “living knowledge” they would be able to make a positive contribution to social transformation as researchers.
“For me, it’s about what do we do responsibly with the knowledge we build to change lives. That’s the competence we need to develop in postgraduate students in order to build a generation of young researchers who can really contribute to finding solutions to the problems in SA in a meaningful way.”

Researcher: Prof Engel-Hills

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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A three-year course in Radiation Therapy Technology (RTT), which was designed by a senior CPUT academic, was recently launched in Mauritius.

The National Diploma in Radiation Therapy Technology was designed by Prof Penelope Engel-Hills, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences, and is the first formal qualification of its kind for the Indian Ocean island nation.

Engel-Hills said that in 2005 she was part of a panel, appointed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who went to Mauritius to design a core curriculum for radiation therapists for developing countries.

“We designed a core curriculum and many countries, including Mauritius, used it to develop training programmes.”

In 2013 and 2014 she returned to Mauritius on an IAEA mission that was aimed at strengthening RTT training in Mauritius.

“It was at that time that I was asked to design a three-year diploma under the auspices of the Mauritius Institute of Health. We got all the approvals and permissions and the first 15 students started the programme in August.”

A further four students, who had received in-house training but no formal lectures, completed a Recognition of Prior Learning process, and have also joined the programme.

Engel-Hills said there were many well-qualified practitioners in Mauritius who would be lecturing the students and she would lecture some core subjects herself as well as do the clinical assessments.

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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The age of big data, open access, social media, transdisciplinary collaboration, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and beyond, demands additional and even new considerations for what it means to be a responsible researcher.

These were the words of Manager: Research Integrity in the Research Directorate,  Dr Hester-Mari Burger at CPUT’s first virtual Annual Research Ethics Day held via Microsoft Teams recently under the theme, “Responsible Research Practices: old and new challenges”.

. “As researchers we are constantly engaging in decision-making, considering the impact of research, the positive as well as the negative, identifying and managing conflicts of values and interests between stakeholders (other researchers, users of the outputs, research participants, society, and future generations), finding the best solutions to these conflicts and carefully balancing harm and benefit in favour of benefit. We need to ensure strong ethical values and conduct to make research trustworthy, reproducible, and sustainable,” added Burger.

 Dr David Phaho, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research Technology Innovation and Partnerships welcomed attendees to the virtual event.

Burger said the responsible conduct of research in general terms is simply good research citizenship, with actions and behaviour reflecting consistent integrity and compliance to ethical principles, professional standards, and legislation.  “However, it also asks of us as researchers to be responsive to changes and challenges. If society is to continue to benefit from and support research, we as researchers should be informed, reactive as well as participants and promoters of the responsible conduct of research.”

The event was highlighted by an international speaker, Anna Bethke, Principal Data Scientist and Head of AI for Social Good, Intel's Artificial Intelligence Products Group, USA on Artificial intelligence, and Ethics. Bethke’s talk described using FATE of AI Ethics to ensure that AI technologies are Fair, Accountable, Transparent, and Ethical. 

She set the tone for the event and the importance of ethical decision-making was emphasised. Director in Adaptronics in the AMTL Unit of the Mechanical Engineering Department, Prof Oscar Philander, shared his personal journey and experiences of ethical decision-making as a researcher involved in emerging and advanced technologies. 

Meanwhile, Prof Penelope Engel-Hills,  Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences, presented on the impact of the new Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) that came into effect on  1 July 2021 and its impact on research.

Burger added that the event also allowed “us to identify key participants to join us in developing CPUT own Code of Conduct for Researchers during a workshop session hosted by Prof Dina Burger”.

“Overall, the event was a great success with forty-two online participants and created a platform for learning, lively discussions, and engagement regarding research ethics.”

Written by Aphiwe Boyce
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Members of the public who had to be hospitalised due to Covid-19 are invited to participate in a new study.

The collaborative study by CPUT and UCT is titled Long-term neuropsychological outcomes in severe Covid-19.

Principal investigator, Dr Donné Minné from CPUT’s Applied Microbial and Health Biotechnology Institute (AMHBI), explained that people who develop severe illness from Covid-19 have a much higher risk of serious neurological and mood-related disorders, particularly if they had been hospitalised. These effects can happen as a result of several pathological pathways in the body, including systemic inflammation, blood vessel changes, alterations in the blood-brain-barrier, loss of oxygen to the brain and the consequences of mechanical ventilation.

“As a result, many patients suffer lasting difficulties with memory, concentration, low motivation and anxiety. These kinds of symptoms pose a major challenge to independent living and general wellbeing and are likely to heavily impact mental health.”

She said there are, however, still many unknowns regarding the nature and trajectory of neuropsychological symptoms following COVID‐19 infection. 

“Most of the currently available knowledge comes from data collected from patients in Europe and the US during the very early phases in a person's recovery. Yet recovery from brain injury can take up to two years and is influenced by a number of individual factors, such as age, education and social support. It is therefore important that studies include patients from different backgrounds and assess cognition and mood at the one and two-year follow-up.”

The other investigators are:   Anthea Arries (MA Nursing student), Prof Penelope Engel-Hills (Health and Wellness Sciences, CPUT) Prof Jeanine Marnewick (AMHBI) and Prof Mark Solms from UCT’s Neuroscience Institute.

“Participation in the study will involve going to the newly established Neuroscience Institute at Groote Schuur Hospital for two hours during which time we will assess cognitive skills such as memory and concentration, and also request that you fill in some questionnaires about your mood and emotions,” said Minné.

All participants will receive reimbursement for travel costs and some remuneration for time. All participants will be entitled to a debriefing session with a family member at a later stage where they will receive individual feedback about their results.

To participate, please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or WhatsApp 072 800 5230.

Written by Ilse Fredericks
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