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Article History

Received: 3 May 2019

Accepted: 24 July 2019

First Online: 6 August 2019

Ethics approval and consent to participate

: Ethical approval (NWU-00094-16-S1) was granted by the Health Research Ethics Committee at North-West University (Potchefstroom Campus). Approval for conducting the study was obtained from the Dean of Health Sciences, as well as both Directors of the Alumni and Open Distance Learning departments at a University, where professional nurses were enrolled for their postgraduate studies. Participation in the study was voluntary, and participants could withdraw at any time. Anonymity, confidentially, and privacy were ensured as the researcher sent SMSs to the cellphone numbers of participants. Survey Monkey features an all-inclusive privacy policy that covers data obtained, use of data, sharing of data, and how long the data will be retained [CitationRef removed]. The service also utilises firewalls, entry control with a two-factor authentication consisting of a logging and auditing function to recognise and intercept unauthorised attempts to access the system [CitationRef removed]. All participants ticked a box after reading an introductory page and provided informed consent before continuing to the survey.

: Not applicable.

: The author declares no competing interests.