Annalize Kieser, Author at

This multi-country study aims to investigate what people know, believe, and do regarding the gut-brain axis, and how perceptions of the connection between gut health, brain function and mental wellbeing differ across countries. It also aims to identify opportunities for improving public awareness of the gut-brain axis.

A closed online survey will be conducted in South Africa, Kenya and the United Kingdom by IPSOS, a leading global market research and public opinion company that provides survey research, design, data collection, and insights across a range of social, health, consumer, and public policy topics. The survey will be conducted among 3,000 adult participants aged over 18 years of age. The survey will be concluded when 1,000 respondents from each country complete the survey.

The GIBA-Africa Network is funded by the Department of Science and Technology and Innovation‐ National Research Foundation (DSTI‐NRF) Centre of Excellence in Human Development at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

The results of the study will be published and disseminated in 2027.

Research and community engagement concerning the gut–brain axis require an understanding of the concepts, experiences and practices through which people already interpret relationships among food, digestion, bodily strength, health, emotion and thought.

This study explores local understandings of gut health, the body, and wellbeing in Soweto, South Africa. The study is designed to privilege participants’ own terminology and explanatory frameworks.

By examining people’s lived experiences, beliefs, and health practices, the research aims to provide insights into how communities understand factors that may influence both physical and mental wellbeing.

The study treats the boundaries and meanings of “the gut” as empirical questions, rather than imposing the biomedical concept at the outset. This is particularly important for GIBA-A.

The research team hopes to conduct a total of 50 semi-structured in-depth interviews.

The researchers hope to publish results in 2027.

Author: Annalize Kieser

Microbiome-Gut-Brain-Axis Multi-country study

Gut health, wellbeing and everyday life in urban South Africa

GIBA Network Members