You are invited to consider participating in a study that involves research on Investigating the Awareness, Utilisation and Perceptions of UKZN Food Programmes Among Health Science Students at Westville Campus. The aim and purpose of this research is to investigate the level of awareness, utilisation, and perceptions of UKZN food support programmes among Health Sciences students at the Westville Campus, to improve accessibility and effectiveness of these programmes. The study is expected to enroll students across the College of Health Sciences at UKZN Westville Campus. It will involve a single online questionnaire. Your responses will be captured using a Likert scale (e.g., Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree) and yes-or-no options. The duration of your participation if you choose to enroll is expected to be approximately 15 minutes. 

Should you experience the following risks and/or discomforts: embarrassment, emotional distress, worry/anxiety, the following safeguards have been put in place to minimise these risks: the survey is fully anonymous, meaning no personal identifiers such as student numbers, names, or email addresses will be collected; neutral and non-stigmatising language is used throughout the questionnaire to avoid implying personal failure or hardship; and the survey can be completed online, privately, and at your own pace without being observed or timed. To support your well-being, UKZN Student Wellness contact details will be displayed on the opening page. Finally, you may skip any question you find uncomfortable without penalty or consequence to your participation.

This study aims to improve awareness of food security and insecurity among Health Sciences students at UKZN, potentially enhance the effectiveness of the UKZN Food Security Programme, and make recommendations to UKZN student support structures to better serve the student community, all under the guidance of formal ethics approval. There will be an opportunity, at the end of the survey, to enter yourself into a lucky draw where you stand a chance to win 1 of 3 grocery vouchers worth R200.

This study has been approved by Biomedical Research Ethics Committee. Our approval reference number is BREC/00010438/2026. The research supervisor is Ms Gugulami Buthelezi and is available at [email protected]

Our Gatekeeper Permission Letter can be found at https://rig.ukzn.ac.za/converis/getfile?id=526507669&portal=false&v=1