Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethical clearance has been granted from the Research Ethics Committees and Higher Degrees Committees of the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal (HSSREC/00001649/2020). Permission to conduct the study has been obtained from the Western Cape Education Department, principals, and governing bodies of the schools involved. The participants will be informed, throughout the research, that their participation is voluntary and that they could choose not to participate or withdraw at any given time during the study without any consequences.

Before the investigation commences, a detailed explanation of the survey will be provided to the learners. All learners will be requested to participate in the study, and all those who have written parent consent (Additional file 1) and have given written assent themselves will be part of the study. Confidentiality and anonymity will be assured to those learners that will be participating. All precautions in relation to COVID19 safety and prevention of infection will be followed.

It is hoped that this study will provide valuable information that will contribute to the re-design of current models of health risk behaviour in the South African public health sector. The proposed audience for the dissemination of the study results will be the study participants, staff members at the research site, colleagues in the School of Health Science and wider UKZN community, peer researchers, and potential funders. In order to facilitate the uptake of evidence from this study into policy and practice, the study results will also be presented to appropriate staff in the Western Cape provincial and national Department of Health, as well as other relevant stakeholders. The proposed methods of disseminating the study results will include public and stakeholder presentations, knowledge translation workshops, as well as the planned publication of results in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at relevant academic conferences.