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Mthethwa M, Mbeye NM, Effa E, Arikpo D, Blose N, Brand A, Chibuzor M, Chipojola R, Durao S, Esu E, Kallon II, Kunje G, Lakudzala S, Naude C, Leong TD, Lewin S, Mabetha D, McCaul M, Meremikwu M, Vandvik PO, Kredo T. Newborn and child health national and provincial clinical practice guidelines in South Africa, Nigeria and Malawi: a scoping review. BMC Health Serv Res 2024; 24:221. [PMID: 38374031 PMCID: PMC10877834 DOI: 10.1186/s12913-024-10682-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/21/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Low and middle-income countries remain disproportionately affected by high rates of child mortality. Clinical practice guidelines are essential clinical tools supporting implementation of effective, safe, and cost-effective healthcare. High-quality evidence-based guidelines play a key role in improving clinical management to impact child mortality. We aimed to identify and assess the quality of guidelines for newborn and child health published in South Africa, Nigeria and Malawi in the last 5 years (2017-2022). METHODS We searched relevant websites (June-July 2022), for publicly available national and subnational de novo or adapted guidelines, addressing newborn and child health in the three countries. Pairs of reviewers independently extracted information from eligible guidelines (scope, topic, target population and users, responsible developers, stakeholder consultation process, adaptation description, assessment of evidence certainty). We appraised guideline quality using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation (AGREE II) instrument. RESULTS We identified 40-guidelines from the three countries. Of these, 8/40 reported being adopted from a parent guideline. More guidelines (n = 19) provided guidance on communicable diseases than on non-communicable diseases (n = 8). Guidelines were most often developed by national health ministries (n = 30) and professional societies (n = 14). Eighteen guidelines reported on stakeholder consultation; with Nigeria (10/11) and Malawi (3/6) faring better than South Africa (5/23) in reporting this activity. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations (GRADE) approach was used in 1/7 guidelines that reported assessing certainty of evidence. Overall guidelines scored well on two AGREE II domains: scope and purpose median (IQR) score 68% (IQR 47-83), and clarity of presentation 81% (67-94). Domains critical for ensuring credible guidance scored below 20%: rigour of development 11% (4-32) and editorial independence 6% (0-27). CONCLUSION National ministries and professional societies drive guideline activities in Malawi, Nigeria and South Arica. However, the methods and reporting do not adhere to global standards. We found low AGREE II scores for rigour of guideline development and editorial independence and limited use of GRADE or adaptation methods. This undermines the credibility of available guidelines to support evidence-informed care. Our findings highlight the importance of ongoing efforts to strengthen partnerships, capacity, and support for guideline development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mashudu Mthethwa
- Health Systems Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Nyanyiwe Masingi Mbeye
- Evidence Informed Decision-Making Centre, Department of Community and Environmental Health, School of Global and Public Health, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Lilongwe, Malawi
| | - Emmanuel Effa
- Cochrane Nigeria, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria
- Department of Internal Medicine, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria
| | - Dachi Arikpo
- Cochrane Nigeria, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria
| | - Ntombifuthi Blose
- Health Systems Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Amanda Brand
- Centre for Evidence-Based Health Care, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Department of Global Health, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Moriam Chibuzor
- Cochrane Nigeria, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria
| | - Roselyn Chipojola
- Evidence Informed Decision-Making Centre, Department of Community and Environmental Health, School of Global and Public Health, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Lilongwe, Malawi
| | - Solange Durao
- Health Systems Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Ekpereonne Esu
- Cochrane Nigeria, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria
| | - Idriss Ibrahim Kallon
- Centre for Evidence-Based Health Care, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Department of Global Health, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Gertrude Kunje
- Evidence Informed Decision-Making Centre, Department of Community and Environmental Health, School of Global and Public Health, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Lilongwe, Malawi
| | - Suzgika Lakudzala
- Evidence Informed Decision-Making Centre, Department of Community and Environmental Health, School of Global and Public Health, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Lilongwe, Malawi
| | - Celeste Naude
- Centre for Evidence-Based Health Care, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Department of Global Health, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Trudy D Leong
- Health Systems Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Simon Lewin
- Health Systems Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa
- Department of Health Sciences Ålesund, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Denny Mabetha
- Health Systems Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Michael McCaul
- Centre for Evidence-Based Health Care, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Department of Global Health, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Martin Meremikwu
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria
| | - Per Olav Vandvik
- MAGIC Evidence Ecosystem Foundation, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Medicine, Lovisenberg Diaconal Hospital, Oslo, Norway
| | - Tamara Kredo
- Health Systems Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa.
- Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
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Rohwer A, Ngah V, Mavridis D, Young T, McCaul M. Building capacity for network meta-analysis in Sub-Saharan Africa: reflections and future direction. Syst Rev 2024; 13:7. [PMID: 38167514 PMCID: PMC10759577 DOI: 10.1186/s13643-023-02418-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Robust, relevant, comprehensive, and up-to-date evidence syntheses are the cornerstone for evidence-informed healthcare decisions. When considering multiple treatment options, network meta-analysis (NMA) systematic reviews play a key role in informing impactful decisions and clinical practice guidelines. However, the capacity and literacy to conduct NMA systematic reviews and interpret its results remains out of reach for many clinicians and review authors, especially in low-to-middle-income countries. Despite ample resources and guides, NMA capacity and training opportunities remain limited to non-existent in Sub-Saharan Africa. Towards solutions and strengthening evidence synthesis and NMA capacity in the Sub-Saharan African region, we describe and reflect on two courses that build NMA capacity and aim to address NMA literacy in Sub-Saharan Africa.The Primer in NMA systematic reviews aimed for participants to be able to find, appraise, interpret, and consider the use of NMA SRs of intervention effects. It is a 6-week online course for clinicians, policy-makers, and researchers wanting to learn more about using NMA systematic reviews. The Global NMA Masterclass workshop aimed for participants to be able to understand and apply pairwise and NMA in STATA and R, evaluate NMA assumptions and confidence in NMA results, and appropriately report NMA results. This course was offered over 5 weeks to clinicians, biostatisticians, and researchers with basic knowledge of epidemiology and biostatics. Although the bulk of learning occurred through self-study, we had weekly, synchronous question-and-answer sessions for both courses. Using relevant examples throughout the courses helped to enable an authentic learning environment.This was the first NMA training developed in Africa for Africa. Development of the courses was a collaborative effort from a multi-disciplinary team. Both NMA courses were well received and attended by a diverse group of participants spread across Sub-Saharan African countries. Participants felt the courses were applicable to their setting. Although most participants appreciated the benefits of online learning, we also experienced some challenges. There is great potential to conduct NMA systematic reviews in Sub-Saharan Africa. The NMA Primer and NMA workshop can play an essential role in expanding and developing NMA SR capacity and literacy in SSA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anke Rohwer
- Centre for Evidence-based Health Care, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Department of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Veranyuy Ngah
- Centre for Evidence-based Health Care, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Department of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Dimitris Mavridis
- Department of Primary Education, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece
| | - Taryn Young
- Centre for Evidence-based Health Care, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Department of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
- South African GRADE Network, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - Michael McCaul
- Centre for Evidence-based Health Care, Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Department of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
- South African GRADE Network, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
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van Niekerk J, Fapohunda T, Rohwer A, McCaul M. Quality of systematic reviews in African emergency medicine: a cross-sectional methodological study. Afr J Emerg Med 2023; 13:331-338. [PMID: 38162895 PMCID: PMC10757176 DOI: 10.1016/j.afjem.2023.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Revised: 10/07/2023] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Reliable systematic reviews are essential to inform clinical practice guidelines, policies and further research priorities in Africa. For systematic review findings to be trustworthy, they need to be conducted with methodological rigour and reported transparently. We assessed the methodological quality of systematic reviews published in African emergency medicine journals, comparing them to those published in international emergency medicine journals. Additionally, we describe the types of review literature published in the African journals. Methods We performed a cross-sectional methodological study of systematic reviews published in selected African and international emergency medicine journals from 2012 to 2021. Studies were eligible if they were i) a systematic review on an emergency medicine topic, ii) published in one of the top five emergency medicine journals in the African region or internationally and iii) published between January 2012 and December 2021 in English or French. We searched PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus databases and hand-searched selected journals. Two authors screened titles, abstracts and full texts independently and in duplicate. Data extraction was performed by one reviewer, using a standardised form, after completing a calibration exercise. We described the characteristics of systematic reviews and assessed methodological quality using AMSTAR II. Results We identified 34 (37%) African and 511 (54%) international systematic reviews from 92 and 948 review articles respectively across 10 journals. We included all 34 African and a random sample of 100 international systematic reviews. Methodological quality was low or critically low for all the African systematic reviews (n=34, 100%) and all but three international systematic reviews (n=97, 97%). The median number of critical domain weaknesses was 4 (IQR 4;5) and 2 (IQR 2;4) for African and international systematic reviews respectively. The most common weaknesses across both African and international systematic reviews were i) not establishing a priori review protocols, ii) unclear selection of study designs iii) not providing a list of excluded studies and iv) unclear reporting on funding sources for included studies. Conclusion Emergency medicine systematic reviews published in African and international journals are lacking in methodological quality. Reporting an a priori protocol, developing a comprehensive search strategy, appropriate evidence synthesis and adequate assessment of risk of bias, heterogeneity and evidence certainty may improve the quality of systematic reviews.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. van Niekerk
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Department of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University
| | - T. Fapohunda
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Department of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University
| | - A. Rohwer
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Department of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University
| | - M. McCaul
- Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Department of Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University
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