Background: The health systems in many low-middle income countries are faced with an increasing number of patients with non-communicable diseases within a high prevalence of infectious diseases. Integrated chronic disease management programs have been recommended as one of the approaches to improve efficiency, quality of care and clinical outcomes at primary healthcare level. The South African Department of Health has implemented the Integrated Chronic Disease Management (ICDM) Model in Primary Health care (PHC) clinics since 2011. Some of the expected outcomes on implementing the ICDM model have not been achieved, and there is a dearth of studies assessing implementation outcomes of chronic care models, especially in low-middle income countries. This thesis aims to assess the degree of fidelity, moderating factors of fidelity and costs associated with the implementation of the ICDM model in South African PHC clinics. Methods: The study was a cross-sectional study design using mixed methods and following the process evaluation conceptual framework. A total of sixteen PHC clinics in the Dr. Kenneth Kaunda (DKK) health district of the North West Province as well as the West Rand (WR) health district of the Gauteng Province, that were ICDM pilot sites were included in the study. The degree of fidelity in the implementation of the ICDM model was evaluated using a fidelity criterion from the four major components of the ICDM model as follows: facility reorganization, clinical supportive management, assisted self-support and strengthening of the support systems. In addition, the implementation fidelity framework was utilized to guide the assessment of ICDM model fidelity moderating factors. The data on fidelity moderating factors were obtained by interviewing 30 purposively selected healthcare workers. The abbreviated Denison Organizational Culture (DOC) survey was administered to 90 healthcare workers to assess the impact of three cultural traits (involvement, consistency and adaptability) on fidelity. Cost data from the provider's perspective were collected in 2019. The costs of implementing the ICDM model current activities for three (facility reorganization, clinical supportive management and assisted self-management) components and additional costs of implementing with enhanced fidelity were estimated. Costs data was collected from budget reviews, interviews with management teams, and other published data. Descriptive statistics were used to describe participants and clinics. Fidelity scores were summarized using medians and proportions and compared by facilities and health districts. Qualitative data were analysed thematically. Pearson correlation coefficient was utilized to assess the association between fidelity and culture. The annual ICDM model implementation costs per PHC clinic and patient per visit were presented in 2019 US dollars. Results: The 16 PHC clinics had comparable patient caseload, and a median of 2430 (IQR: 1685-2942) patients older than 20 years received healthcare services in these clinics over six months. The overall implementation fidelity of the ICDM model median score was 79% (125/158, IQR: 117-132); WR was 80% (126/158, IQR: 123-132) while DKK was 74% (117/158, IQR: 106-130), p=0.1409. The highest clinic fidelity score was 86% (136/158), while the lowest was 66% (104/158). The fidelity scores for the four components of the ICDM model were very similar. A patient flow analysis indicated long (2-5 hours) waiting times and that acute and chronic care services were combined onto one stream. Interviews with healthcare workers revealed that the moderating factors of implementation fidelity of the ICDM model were the existence of facilitation strategies (training and clinical mentorship); intervention complexity (healthcare worker, time and space integration); and participant responsiveness (observing operational efficiencies, compliance of patients and staff attitudes). Participants also indicated that poor adherence to any one component of the ICDM model affected the implementation of the other components. Contextual factors that affected fidelity included supply chain management, infrastructure and adequate staff, and balanced patient caseloads. The overall mean score for the DOC was 3.63 (SD = 0.58), the involvement cultural trait had the highest (3.71; SD = 0.72) mean score, followed by adaptability (3.62; SD = 0.56), and consistency (3.56; SD = 0.63). Although there were no statistically significant differences in cultural scores between PHC clinics, culture scores for all three traits were significantly higher in WR (involvement 3.39 vs 3.84, p= 0.011; adaptability 3.40 vs 3.73, p= 0.007; consistency 3.34 vs 3.68, p= 0.034). The mean annual cost of implementing the ICDM model was $148 446.00 (SD: $65 125.00) per clinic, and 84% ($124 345.00) was for current costs while additional costs for higher fidelity accounted for were 16% ($24 102.00). The mean cost per patient per visit was $6.00 (SD:$0.77). Conclusion: There was some variability of fidelity scores on the components of the ICDM model by PHC clinics, and there are multiple (context, participant responsiveness, intervention complexity and facilitation strategies) interrelated moderating factors influencing implementation fidelity of the ICDM model. Organizational culture needs to be purposefully influenced to enhance adaptability and consistency cultural traits of clinics to enhance the ICDM model's principles of coordinated, integrated, patient-centred care. Small additional costs are required to implement the ICDM model with higher fidelity. Recommendations: Interventions to enhance the fidelity of chronic care models should be tailored to specific activities that have low degree of adherence to the guidelines. Addressing some of the moderating factors like training and mentoring of staff members, role clarification and supply chain management could contribute to enhanced fidelity. Organizational culture enhancements to ensure that the prevailing culture is aligned with the planned quality advancements is recommended prior to the implementation of new innovative interventions. Further research on the cost-effectiveness of the ICDM model in middle-income countries is recommended.

Malaria is still one of the most proli c communicable diseases in the world with more than 200 million infections annually, its greatest e ect is felt in the poor nations with-in sub-saharan Africa and south-east Asia. It is especially fatal for women and children where out of the 660 000 fatalities in 2010, 86% were below the age of 5. In the past decade the global fatality rate due to malaria has been signi cantly reduced, primarily due to proliferation of vector control using treated nets and indoor residual spraying of DDT. There have, however, been few innovations in anti-malarial therapeutics and with the threat of the spread of drug resistant strains a need still exists to develop novel drugs to combat malaria infections. One of the major hinderances to drug development is the huge cost of the drug development process, where candidate failures late in development are extremely costly. This is where post-genomic information has the potential of adding great value. By using all available data pertaining to a disease, one gains higher discerning power to select good drug candidates and identify risks early in development before serious investments are made. This need provided the motivation for the development of Discovery; a tool to aid in the identi cation of protein targets and viable lead compounds for the treatment of malaria. Discovery was developed at the University of Pretoria to be a platform for a large spectrum of biological data focused on the malaria causing Plasmodium parasite. It conglomerates various data types into a web-based interface that allows searching using logical lters or by using protein or chemical start points. In 2010 it was decided to rebuild Discovery to improve it's functionality and optimize query times. Also, since its inception various new datasources became available speci cally related to bio-active molecules, these include the ChEMBL database and TCAMS dataset of bio-active molecules and the focus of this project was the integration of said datasets into Discovery. Large quantities of high quality bioactivity data have never been available in the public domain and this has opened up the opportunity to gain even greater insight into the activity of chemical compounds in malaria. Due to conserved structural/functional similarities of proteins between di erent species it is possible to derive predictions about a malaria protein or a chemicals activity in malaria due to experiments carried out on other organisms. These comparisons can be leveraged to highlight potential new compounds that were previously not considered or prevent wasting resources persuing potential compounds that pose threats of toxicity to humans. This project has resulted in a web based system that allows one to search through the chemical space of the malaria parasite. Allowing them to view sets of predicted protein-ligand interactions for a given protein based on that proteins similarity to those existing in the bio-active molecule databases. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / gm2014 / Biochemistry / unrestricted

Abstract Background: Insufficient physical activity has become a health problem worldwide and is closely connected to the development of various diseases such as Non-communicable diseases (NCDs). This has become a national problem in Thailand as well, and during the last decade, the government have launched various campaigns in attempt to increase the physical activity level of the population. Studies around the world have shown a positive correlation between physical activity (PA) and the prevention and treatment of diseases. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to gain knowledge about young Thai adults’ points of view and experiences of PA during their lifespan. Method: The study was a qualitative interview study based on five semi-structured interviews. The participants were young Thai adults studying or working at a computer-oriented college. When recruiting participants, both purpose and convenience sampling methods were used. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the collected data. Results: Five categories and twelve subcategories were identified during the analysis process. The five categories represented the broad focus areas and aspects of the participants’ views and experiences of PA. Conclusion: The participants had significant variations in both views and experiences regarding PA. The participants had a positive attitude towards PA due to different health outcomes. However, a lack of fundamental theoretical knowledge from their schoolyear’s regarding PA was identified. Further research is therefore needed to deeper investigate the knowledge gap and possible underlying causes.   Keywords: physical activity, non-communicable diseases, Thailand, experiences, views, physiotherapy / Sammanfattning Bakgrund: Otillräcklig fysisk aktivitet (FA) har blivit ett hälsoproblem världen över och är nära kopplat till utvecklingen av olika sjukdomar, t.ex. folksjukdomar. Detta har blivit ett nationellt problem även i Thailand och under det senaste decenniet har regeringen lanserat olika kampanjer i försök att öka den fysiska aktivitetsnivån hos befolkningen. Studier runt om i världen har visat att det finns ett positivt samband mellan FA och förebyggande och behandling av sjukdomar. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att få kunskap om unga thailändska vuxnas syn på och erfarenheter av FA under deras livstid. Metod: Studien var en kvalitativ intervjustudie baserad på fem semistrukturerade intervjuer. Deltagarna var unga thailändska vuxna som studerade eller arbetade på en dataorienterad högskola. Vid rekryteringen av deltagare användes både metoder för ändamåls- och bekvämlighetsurval. Kvalitativ innehållsanalys användes för att analysera den insamlade datan. Resultat: Fem kategorier och tolv underkategorier identifierades under analysprocessen. De fem kategorierna representerade de övergripande fokusområdena och aspekterna av deltagarnas åsikter och erfarenheter av FA. Slutsats: Deltagarna hade betydande variationer i både åsikter och erfarenheter av FA. Deltagarna hade en positiv attityd till FA på grund av olika hälsorelaterade effekter, dock konstaterades det att det fanns en brist på grundläggande teoretiska kunskaper kring FA från deras skolår. Ytterligare forskning behövs därför för att djupare undersöka kunskapsluckan och eventuella bakomliggande orsaker.   Nyckelord: physical activity, non-communicable diseases, Thailand, experiences, views, physiotherapy

Magister Public Health - MPH / Non-communicable diseases (NCD) continue to rise globally, causing significant morbidity and mortality. Low and medium-income countries (LMIC) such as South Africa are the worst affected because of an existing burden of infectious diseases and general poverty in the population. In South Africa, NCDs were responsible for 57.8% of total deaths in 2017, surpassing group 1 diseases (30.7%) that include tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. Studies have shown that early detection of NCDs and interventions to reduce NCDs' risk significantly prevent suffering and further loss of lives. Workplace health promotion and healthy university concepts are widely being implemented globally to promote health at workplaces and institutions of higher learning. The study aimed to determine the prevalence of selected non-communicable disease risk factors and to assess the risk of cardiovascular disease among administrative staff at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), South Africa, using secondary data collected in 2011.

Magister Public Health - MPH / Chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have not received adequate attention in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) due to the high burden of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and other communicable diseases. However, in 2019, NCDs were estimated to account for 45.86% of all deaths in the country with cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus and chronic respiratory conditions amongst the top ten causes of death. Persistent shortages of medicines in public health facilities in Eswatini have been observed resulting in patients purchasing their medicines from private retail pharmacies.

La Fièvre catarrhale ovine (FCO) est une arbovirose émergente en Europe depuis la fin desannées 90. Elle affecte principalement les ruminants par la piqûre de petits moucheronshématophages, les Culicoides (Diptera : Ceratopogonidae). Pendant l’été 2006, l’introductiondu sérotype 8 de la FCO, dans la région de Maastricht (Pays-Bas) a rapidement diffusé dansles Ardennes, générant de lourdes pertes pour les éleveurs de bovins et d’ovins. Cesévènements interrogent sur la capacité des Culicoides de la région paléarctique à transmettrela FCO. Ils révèlent la nécessité de mieux connaître la biologie de ces diptères.Nous avons développé successivement dans ce travail, trois axes de recherche qui se sontappuyés sur un travail de terrain réalisé principalement au sein de deux élevages situés dansles Ardennes françaises.Dans un premier temps, nous avons réalisé une expérimentation de gorgement de Culicoidesde captures et d’émergences, provenant des Ardennes, sur petits ruminants virémiques pour leBTV8. A l’issue des expérimentations, une femelle gorgée de l’espèce Culicoides obsoletus apondu et a été retrouvée faiblement positive lors de la recherche du génome du virus de laFCO. Les résultats obtenus ainsi que les difficultés rencontrées lors de la réalisation de cetype d’expérimentation sont discutés.Le deuxième travail exposé s’est intéressé au comportement trophique des Culicoides parl’étude de l’origine du repas sanguin de femelles de Culicoides piégées dans des biotopesvariés. A cette fin, nous avons utilisé des marqueurs moléculaires pour amplifier l’ADN devertébré présent dans les estomacs de femelles gorgées. Ces analyses ont permis de mettre enévidence que des espèces appartenant aux complexes Obsoletus, Pulicaris, ou encore,Culicoides dewulfi, avaient un spectre d’hôte large. Certaines d’entre elles peuvent se gorger àla fois sur les ruminants domestiques et sur la faune sauvage. De plus, ce type d’étuderenseigne sur l’écologie des différentes espèces de Culicoides.Enfin, nous présentons les résultats d’une étude faunistique fondée sur des captures avec despièges lumineux, mais aussi, des prélèvements de boue pour la recherche des gîtes larvaires.Les résultats de piégeages entre les deux exploitations ont été comparés, notamment en termesde biodiversité, et sont discutés en regard des différences de pratiques d’élevage entre lesdeux exploitations choisies d’une part, et la mise en évidence des gîtes larvaires d’autre part.De nombreuses espèces de Culicoides ont émergé au laboratoire à partir des prélèvements deboues, qui ont été caractérisés macroscopiquement. Les gîtes larvaires de C. obsoletus, peuconnus jusqu’alors, ont été mis en évidence dans les deux fermes. Ils ont fait l’objet d’un suivisur plusieurs mois.L’ensemble de ces études contribue à la meilleure connaissance des Culicoides présents dansles Ardennes et de leur biologie, elles permettent de rendre compte des espèces qui semblenttrès inféodées à l’élevage de bovins, et celles qui sont plus ubiquistes. Certains travauxprésentés pourraient être poursuivis pour mettre en évidence les espèces ou populations deCulicoides plutôt sylvatiques, et pour mettre en place de nouvelles expérimentations sur lacompétence et la capacité vectorielle des Culicoides. / Since the late 90’s, Bluetongue disease (BT) can be considered as an emerging arbovirose inEurope. This disease is mainly transmitted to ruminants by the bites of minute size midges,the Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), also known as biting midges. An outbreak of BTserotype 8 occurred during summer 2006, in the region of Maastricht (Netherlands) andspread quickly to the Ardennes region. The epizooty lead to severe losses in cattle and sheepholdings. These events highlighted the lack of knowledge on the vectorial capacity ofpaleartic Culicoides species, and more generally on their biology.Three approaches are successively treated in this document. They are all based on field workconducted mainly in two holdings located in the Ardennes region.First, an experiment to assess oral susceptibility of Culicoides to Bluetongue virus (BTV) 8was undertaken. Field collected and emerging Culicoides coming from the Ardennes wereengorged on viremic small ruminants. At the end of the experiments, one Culicoides obsoletusfemale was found bloodfed and laid eggs. She was tested for BTV and was found weaklypositive for BTV genome. This result and the difficulties met during the experiment havebeen discussed.The second study focused on the bloodmeal origin of engorged females of Culicoides. Thesewere collected by light traps set in different kinds of environment. Molecular markers wereused in order to amplify the DNA of vertebrates present in the stomach of bloodfed females.Some of the species processed belonging to the Obsoletus or the Pulicaris complex, andCulicoides dewulfi fed on a wide variety of hosts, including domestic ruminants and wildanimals. Moreover, this kind of study brings information on the ecology of different speciesof Culicoides.Finally, a faunistic survey is presented. It was achieved through light trap collections ofmidges and also thanks to the sampling of potential breeding sites. Biodiversity in thecollection of midges captured by light traps between the two holdings were compared.Differences observed are discussed taking into account the differences in breeding practicesbetween the two holdings and the breeding sites investigations. Numerous species ofCulicoides emerged in the laboratory from soil samples which were macroscopicallydescribed. Breeding sites of C. obsoletus, which were not well documentated in the literature,were found in both farms. These were monitored over some months.This work contributes to a better knowledge of the Culicoides present in the Ardennes andtheir biology. It highlights the species which are closely related to the cattle holdingenvironment, and those which are ubiquist. Some of these studies could be continued in orderto highlight the species more related to the forested areas, and to set new experiments onvectorial competence and capacity.

South Africa‘s high prevalence of HIV/AIDS coupled with a high crime rate and incidence of sexual violence necessitated the enquiry and study into the role of criminal law to address the wilful transmission of HIV.1 This study shows that criminal law can be used to punish offenders for wrongdoing and therefore finds application in the wilful transmission of HIV.2 The study distinguishes the dividing line between the justifiable use of criminal law and where use of the criminal law becomes discriminatory in nature and counterproductive to public health measures. The United Nations (hereinafter referred to as the UN) laid down guiding principles for countries to adopt when using the criminal law and stated that countries should use existing criminal law offences to prosecute intentional HIV infections.3 The South African Law Commission (hereinafter referred to as the SALC) endorses this approach. South Africa‘s use of the criminal law, in response to harmful HIV behaviour is in line with the UN recommendations as it uses the existing common law offences to prosecute the wilful transmission of HIV, namely murder, attempted murder and assault. Drawing from the writer‘s comparative study in Chapter Six below, South Africa, members of the Zimbabwean parliament, Canada, as well as the American Bar Association have all concluded that the use of specific HIV-related legislation creates some a form of stigmatization towards people living with HIV and is therefore not warranted. This study shows that criminal law has a role to play in the wilful transmission of HIV; however the creation of HIV specific legislation is not recommended and existing criminal law offences should be used to address harmful HIV related behaviour. Such an approach is in line with the guiding principles laid down by the UN and SALC.

This descriptive study aimed to assess the Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) policy implementation in the Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) among healthcare workers in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality public health care facilities. A convenience sampling method was used to gather information from nurses (n=32) rendering maternal and child health services in nineteen permanent Nelson Mandela Bay public health care facilities (MOU’s, paediatric sections, well baby clinics and PMTCT sites). Recommendations included to the need develop indicators for measuring the IYCF policy objectives and regularly collect data on infant and young child feeding, standardising infant feeding education given by peer educators / lay counsellors from various organisations, capacity building and training of staff on IYCF and scaling up monitoring and evaluation of the IYCF policy impact.

The burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is high in South Africa. Behavioural conducts and lifestyle factors, unhealthy diets and physical inactivity are the major contributors to the development of NCDs among South Africans. Physical activity (PA) is a modifiable risk factor that is also low in cost for preventing and managing NCDs. PA for health outcomes remains low among black South Africans. Regular engagement in PA is influenced by the knowledge and perception that a person has about the influence of PA as a healthy lifestyle. No studies that investigate perceptions and knowledge of NCDs and PA among black South Africans could be found in literature. The main purpose of this study was to explore and determine the knowledge and perceptions of NCDs and PA among black South Africans. A total of 93 black South Africans from the Northern Cape and North West provinces voluntarily participated in the study. The participants consisted of groups of employed and unemployed men and women residing in an urban community, men working in unskilled labour conditions residing in rural areas and unemployed women residing in a deep rural area. The recruitment procedures included flyers, local radio announcements, participants recruited from previous researchers, mass communication, and word of mouth. A mixed method approach was performed that consisted of quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative methods were employed to determine the point prevalence of NCD risk factors among 93 participants. Of these participants, 54 participated in a survey to determine knowledge of NCDs and PA. Participants from deep rural areas were excluded from the survey owing to a high incidence of illiteracy. A qualitative exploration of perceptions of NCDs and PA was performed. The quantitative procedures included a survey for heart disease knowledge and PA knowledge questionnaires. This was followed by NCD risk factor profile measurements; weight, height, waist and hip circumference, resting blood pressure, peripheral blood measurements for glucose and total cholesterol and objective PA measurements using combined accelerometry and heart rate (Actiheart®) for seven consecutive days. Qualitatively, focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted to explore perceptions of the PA and NCDs using an open-ended semi-structured questionnaire. SPSS version 22 was used in all quantitative statistical analyses. Descriptive statistics reporting means and standard deviations and frequencies were performed to determine knowledge of NCD risk factors and PA, and to determine the point prevalence of NCD risk factors. Partial correlation analyses were performed to determine the relationship between knowledge of heart disease, knowledge of PA and current PA and risk factors of heart disease. Statistical significance was set at p <0.05. Qualitative data was analysed. FGDs were audio recorded and transcribed for analysis. The Noticing, Thinking and Coding approach was used to analyse data using Atlas. ti7. Black South Africans have high risk profiles for NCDs. The highest prevalence was for systolic blood pressure (71%), physical inactivity (68%) and markers of overweight and obesity with 67%. NCD knowledge was 59 ± 8 % and the total sample mean for PA was 84 ± 16%. The results of this study found a significant relationship between NCD knowledge and activity levels among males (r = 0.38; p =0.03). Among women PA knowledge positively associated with PA, though not statistically significant (r = 0.29; p = 0.42). The knowledge of NCDs and NCD risk factors results from the qualitative exploration of this study showed that black South Africans have limited knowledge about NCDs and negative perceptions about NCDs. They have an undistinguished knowledge of PA and are unable to apply the PA knowledge for disease prevention or management. It is therefore concluded that among black South Africans there is limited knowledge and misconception about PA. Black South Africans also lack knowledge on NCDs and have negative perceptions about NCD. An improved understanding of the perceptions of the population about physical activity and disease outcomes should be assessed in future studies in order to ensure the adoption of physical activity for the management of risk factors for NCDs. / MSc (Biokinetics), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

The burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is high in South Africa. Behavioural conducts and lifestyle factors, unhealthy diets and physical inactivity are the major contributors to the development of NCDs among South Africans. Physical activity (PA) is a modifiable risk factor that is also low in cost for preventing and managing NCDs. PA for health outcomes remains low among black South Africans. Regular engagement in PA is influenced by the knowledge and perception that a person has about the influence of PA as a healthy lifestyle. No studies that investigate perceptions and knowledge of NCDs and PA among black South Africans could be found in literature. The main purpose of this study was to explore and determine the knowledge and perceptions of NCDs and PA among black South Africans. A total of 93 black South Africans from the Northern Cape and North West provinces voluntarily participated in the study. The participants consisted of groups of employed and unemployed men and women residing in an urban community, men working in unskilled labour conditions residing in rural areas and unemployed women residing in a deep rural area. The recruitment procedures included flyers, local radio announcements, participants recruited from previous researchers, mass communication, and word of mouth. A mixed method approach was performed that consisted of quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative methods were employed to determine the point prevalence of NCD risk factors among 93 participants. Of these participants, 54 participated in a survey to determine knowledge of NCDs and PA. Participants from deep rural areas were excluded from the survey owing to a high incidence of illiteracy. A qualitative exploration of perceptions of NCDs and PA was performed. The quantitative procedures included a survey for heart disease knowledge and PA knowledge questionnaires. This was followed by NCD risk factor profile measurements; weight, height, waist and hip circumference, resting blood pressure, peripheral blood measurements for glucose and total cholesterol and objective PA measurements using combined accelerometry and heart rate (Actiheart®) for seven consecutive days. Qualitatively, focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted to explore perceptions of the PA and NCDs using an open-ended semi-structured questionnaire. SPSS version 22 was used in all quantitative statistical analyses. Descriptive statistics reporting means and standard deviations and frequencies were performed to determine knowledge of NCD risk factors and PA, and to determine the point prevalence of NCD risk factors. Partial correlation analyses were performed to determine the relationship between knowledge of heart disease, knowledge of PA and current PA and risk factors of heart disease. Statistical significance was set at p <0.05. Qualitative data was analysed. FGDs were audio recorded and transcribed for analysis. The Noticing, Thinking and Coding approach was used to analyse data using Atlas. ti7. Black South Africans have high risk profiles for NCDs. The highest prevalence was for systolic blood pressure (71%), physical inactivity (68%) and markers of overweight and obesity with 67%. NCD knowledge was 59 ± 8 % and the total sample mean for PA was 84 ± 16%. The results of this study found a significant relationship between NCD knowledge and activity levels among males (r = 0.38; p =0.03). Among women PA knowledge positively associated with PA, though not statistically significant (r = 0.29; p = 0.42). The knowledge of NCDs and NCD risk factors results from the qualitative exploration of this study showed that black South Africans have limited knowledge about NCDs and negative perceptions about NCDs. They have an undistinguished knowledge of PA and are unable to apply the PA knowledge for disease prevention or management. It is therefore concluded that among black South Africans there is limited knowledge and misconception about PA. Black South Africans also lack knowledge on NCDs and have negative perceptions about NCD. An improved understanding of the perceptions of the population about physical activity and disease outcomes should be assessed in future studies in order to ensure the adoption of physical activity for the management of risk factors for NCDs. / MSc (Biokinetics), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015