ArticleRespiratory research2022
Challenges in the diagnosis of asthma in children, what are the solutions? A scoping review of 3 countries in sub Saharan Africa.
Article in Respiratory research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence and risk factors for asthma in East Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC pediatrics · 2026Pooled it
- Improving asthma case detection among children and adolescents through clinic-based screening in primary care health facilities in Uganda: a cluster randomised trial.BMJ open respiratory research · 2026Trial
- Malaria in the 21st Century: Global Disease Burden, Epidemiological Insights, and Strategic Control Approaches.Biology · 2026Review
- Challenges faced by adolescents and lung function technicians in Anuradhapura district, Sri Lanka, during spirometry: a qualitative study.International health · 2026Article
- Childhood asthma in Uganda: experiences of healthcare providers and caregivers in diagnosis and management. A FRESH AIR qualitative study.NPJ primary care respiratory medicine · 2026Article
- Asthma in African children and adolescents: Burden, barriers, and management strategies.African journal of thoracic and critical care medicine · 2026Review
- Sex-based disparities in asthma prevalence in Sierra Leone.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2025Article
- Assessing spirometry, exhaled nitric oxide, and asthma symptoms score as instruments for respiratory health evaluation among women in a low socioeconomic context: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2025Article
- The potential of smart inhaler for asthma management in Sub-Saharan Africa.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2024Article
- Exploring the Multifaceted Landscape of Pediatric Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Insights into Prevalence, Severity, and Coexisting Conditions.Nature and science of sleep · 2024Article
- Gaps in asthma diagnosis and treatment in low- and middle-income countries.Frontiers in allergy · 2023Article
- Global Burden of Asthma, and Its Impact on Specific Subgroups: Nasal Polyps, Allergic Rhinitis, Severe Asthma, Eosinophilic Asthma.Journal of asthma and allergy · 2023Article
- Policy-Practice Gaps in the Management of Asthma in Children in a Developing Country: Indonesia Experience.Sage open pediatricsArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAsthma is the commonest chronic respiratory tract disease in children. In low-income countries, challenges exist in asthma diagnosis. In surveys done in children, the prevalence of 'asthma' defined by symptoms is high compared to 'doctor diagnosed asthma'. The questions answered by this review are (i) What challenges have been experienced in the diagnosis of asthma in children? (ii) What solutions will address these challenges?
methodsThe Arksey and O'Malley's framework for scoping reviews was used for the study methodology, while the PRISMA-ScR checklist guided the reporting process. Electronic databases: PubMed Central, EMBASE and Google Scholar were searched. Primary quantitative and qualitative studies and reviews from 2010 to 2021, from Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda written in English or translated to English, which answered the study questions were included. The author, title, country, study type, methods, purpose, findings and references were captured onto a predefined data collection table. The 'Preview, Question, Read, Summarise' system was used and a narrative report was used to summarise the findings.
resultsA total of 28 studies were included. The causes of under-diagnosis of asthma include lack of community knowledge and perception of asthma, poor accessibility to health care, strained health systems, lack of diagnostic tests including spirometry, low levels of knowledge among health-care workers and lack of or non-implementation of asthma guidelines. Strategies to improve asthma diagnosis will include community and school based education programmes, revision of asthma diagnostic terms, guideline development and implementation and health systems strengthening.
conclusionThis scoping review provides research evidence for policy makers and health-workers involved in the care of asthmatic children on challenges faced in asthma diagnosis and strategies to improve asthma diagnosis.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.