South Africa's land policies have increased women's participation in agriculture, but limited information exists about their agricultural activities. We surveyed 911 women working on the Makhatini Flats in Northern KwaZulu-Natal in 2006, gathering data on demographics, agricultural activities, crop production and pesticide use in both irrigated and Dryland areas. Average age of participants was 41.9, with Drylands women slightly older. Education levels were low among both groups, but lowest in the Drylands. Drylands women were more likely to engage in reported agricultural activities, including pesticide spraying. Use of World Health Organization class I and II pesticides was reported in both areas. Farm ownership, age <30 years, and being a sprayer were associated with knowledge of the names of pesticides utilized. This analysis suggests that women on the Drylands face greater risk of adverse ergonomic health outcomes and women from both areas are equally at risk for adverse pesticide-related health outcomes.

Background: Medical educational programmes strive to produce competent and skilled graduates. However, studies have shown that undergraduate medical students experience varying degrees of stress which impacts on their health, academic performance and social functioning. This study explored the prevalence and causes of stress, its impact on students and their coping strategies in a racially diverse cohort of final-year medical students exposed to a problem-based learning curriculum in South Africa. Method: This descriptive cross-sectional study was undertaken by final-year medical students in 2008 at a South African medical faculty with a racially diverse student population. Semi-structured interviews were conducted. Data were thematically analysed. Results: Ninety-four students, representing 47% of the final-year medical student cohort, participated in the study. Seventy-eight per cent of the participants (n = 73) experienced stress during the programme, and the majority (n = 49) were females. Ethnic and gender differences were observed for the variables studied. Academic and personal problems were the main sources of stress. Coping strategies included individual lifestyle adaptations, family support, religious structures and study groups. Conclusion: Maladaptive stress impacts negatively at multiple levels on undergraduate medical students. Mentorship and educational support programmes should be integrated into the undergraduate medical curriculum and made available to all preclinical and clinical students. Students need to be taught and guided to identify and monitor their own well-being and to select positive strategies to overcome stress. These measures should assist students to manage their workload and time effectively.

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Despite international studies into religion's protective mechanism against suicidal tendencies, within South Africa there is a paucity of research investigating this relationship. This quantitative study investigates the relationship between religiosity and suicidal tendencies in a sample of Muslim students (N = 111). Two scales were used to test the hypothesis that religion mediates suicidal tendency: the Religious Orientation Test and the Multi-Attitude Suicide Tendency Scale. The findings confirmed this hypothesis but disconfirmed our second hypothesis that there would be gender differences between the variables. We concluded that a high degree of religiosity acts as a protective mechanism against suicidal tendencies and discuss the implications of our findings.