Page 96 - SAMRC Annual Report 2023-24

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS UNDER THIS PROGRAMME

Biostatistics
Research Unit

Unit director:
Dr. Tarylee Reddy

Prioritising responsive research The unit's SAFOODS Division responded to
through impactful interventions changes in regulations relating to the reduction of
salt in certain food items, with a focused update
The Data Management Division of the Biostatistics of the food composition database to address the
Research Unit (BRU) led the data management of impact of the reduction of sodium values prescribed
the 2023 Mozambique Malaria Prevalence Survey, in the regulation. The updated database resulted in
harnessing the use of dashboards for real-time the compilation of food items across 13 foodstuff
visualisation of recruitment and sample composition. categories and an updated database totalling
Expanding its contribution to data management in 1 875 food items. This update was published via the
the broader region, the division played a key role SAFOODS FoodFinder programme, impacting all
in the data management for The Ubuntu COVPN nutritional analysis and its applications in the country.
3008 trial, which assessed a 2-dose versus a 3-dose
regimen of the Moderna mRNA vaccine among
people living with HIV in South Africa and 7 other
sub-Saharan African countries.
The Biostatistics Division is nationally recognised
for expertise in survey design and methodology
and played a key role in the analysis of two national
surveys in the past year: The 2022 antenatal HIV
sentinel survey and The Sixth South African National
HIV Prevalence, Incidence, And Behaviour Survey
(SABSSM VI). In both these surveys, the unit played
a pivotal role in the design, weighting and analysis.
The SABSSM VI survey aimed to estimate HIV
prevalence, exposure to ART and VL suppression in
HIV-positive individuals at a national, provincial and
district level; as well as HIV incidence (annualised
rate of new HIV infections) at the national level.
The unit has extended its statistical expertise to
the SABSSM survey since the first survey in 2002,
commemorating 20 years of robust and strategic BRU at the SABSSM Data Analysis workshop.
HIV and public health data.

94 SAMRC ANNUAL REPOR T 2023-24