Statement of Peer Review ^†

In submitting conference proceedings to Proceedings, the Volume Editors of the proceedings would like to certify to the publisher that all papers published in this volume have been subjected to peer review by the designated expert referees and were administered by the Volume Editors strictly following the policies announced on the conference website [1,2,3,4,5,6,7].

The whole process was supervised by the conference committee and the Volume Editors and adhered to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published by MDPI and complied with the peer review policy and guidelines of Proceedings, which can be found at the following link: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/proceedings/instruction_for_conference_organizers. The review reports were checked and archived by the Editorial Office of Proceedings.

• Type of peer review was single-blind

In this single-blind peer review, authors submitted their abstracts to the University of Limpopo Faculty of Health Sciences 8th Annual Research Conference platform (https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/0d934cb2ffb24f8b869cb4e84d6a6b5b). Then the editors (Prof. T.G. Tshitangano and Prof. D.T. Goon) checked for basic fit with the journal’s aims (“Advancing Universal Health Coverage and Promoting the Well-Being of All Individuals”) and scope (health promotion and education; health prevention strategies; health treatment modalities; rehabilitative health; palliative health care; healthcare accessibility; mental health promotion strategies; maternal and child; communicable and non-communicable diseases; substance abuse prevention and treatment strategies; sexual and reproductive care, family planning and education; gender equity; gender, etc).

If found appropriate, the abstracts were sent out for peer review. Notably, the editor selected experts in the relevant field to serve as reviewers. These reviewers were never disclosed to the authors. However, the reviewers received the manuscript with the author information visible (e.g., name and affiliation). Thus, reviewers remained anonymous to the authors. Reviewers assessed the work based on originality, clarity, methodology, relevance, and impact, and provided detailed comments and recommendations (i.e., accept, revise, or reject). Then the editor considered the reviewers’ feedback and decided whether to

• Accept as is;
• Accept with revisions;
• Reject.

The feedback was shared with the authors, with reviewers’ identities concealed. If revisions were required, authors revised and resubmitted in the recommended format. The revised version was reviewed again by the editors.

• Conference submission management system: fhsresearchday@ul.ac.za—https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/0d934cb2ffb24f8b869cb4e84d6a6b5b
• Number of submissions received: 151
• Number of submissions sent for review: 151
• Number of submissions accepted: 123—(95 oral and 28 poster)
• Acceptance rate (number of submissions accepted/number of submissions received): 81%;
• Average number of reviews per paper: 1
• Total number of reviewers involved: 37

The Conference Committee extends our heartfelt thanks to the dedicated reviewers (

Table 1. Referee List.

Name	Affiliation	Country
1. Dr. T.M. Satekge	Department of Chemical Pathology	South Africa
2. Dr. G.O. Sumbane	School of Medicine	South Africa
3. Dr. M.P. Kekana	Department of Public Health and Health Systems	South Africa
4. Dr. T.A. Phukubye	Department of Nursing	South Africa
5. Dr. N.L. Mabila	Department of Pharmacy	South Africa
6. Dr. M.O. Mbombi	Department of Nursing	South Africa
7. Dr. Y.B. Nuapia	Department of Pharmacy	South Africa
8. Dr. P.M.W. Nkoana	Department of Optometry	South Africa
9. Dr. I. Rukasha	Department of Medical Microbiology	South Africa
10. Dr. V.N. Sukati	Department of Optometry	South Africa
11. Dr. R.V. Vagiri	Department of Pharmacy	South Africa
12. Mr. S.S.R. Choma	Department of Pathology and Medical Sciences	South Africa
13. Mr. K.P. Seakamela	Department of Pathology and Medical Sciences	South Africa
14. Prof. P.M. Mamogobo	Department of Nursing	South Africa
15. Dr. T.A. Ntho	Department of Nursing	South Africa
16. Mr. C.B. Ntimana	Department of Pathology and Medical Sciences	South Africa
17. Dr. O. Gcilitshana	Department of Pathology and Medical Sciences	South Africa
18. Prof. T.G. Tshitangano	Department of Public Health and Health Systems	South Africa
19. Prof. G.J.O. Marincowits	Head of Academic Department: Family Medicine	South Africa
20. Prof. R. Lekalakala-Mokaba	Department of Pathology	South Africa
21. Prof. M. Makgahlela	Department of Psychology	South Africa
22. Prof. M.M. Bopape	Human Nutrition and Dietetics	South Africa
23. Prof. T.E. Mutshatshi	Department of Nursing	South Africa
24. Prof. L. Muthelo	Department of Nursing	South Africa
25. Prof. M. Nlooto	Department of Pharmacy	South Africa
26. Adj. Prof F. Ooko	Department of Radiation Medicine & Imaging	South Africa
27. Prof. T.I. Ramavhoya	Department of Nursing	South Africa
28. Prof. M.M. Rasweswe	Department of Nursing	South Africa
29. Prof. S.M. Risenga	Department of Paediatrics and Child Health	South Africa
30. Prof. S.D. Mathebula	Department of Optometry	South Africa
31. Prof. L. Sithole	Director: School of Health Care Sciences	South Africa
32. Prof. C.J. Sutton	Department of Paediatrics and Child Health	South Africa
33. Prof. D.T. Goon	Research Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences	South Africa
34. Dr. A.R. Sema Ramashala	Department of Dermatology	South Africa
35. Prof. M. Moagi	Department of Nursing	South Africa
36. Dr. T.S. Netshapapame	Department of Public Health & Health Systems	South Africa
37. Dr. T.J. Mashamba	Department of Public Health & Health Systems	South Africa

) whose expertise and commitment have been key to the Faculty of Health Sciences’ 8th Annual Research Conference’s success.