Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38932660›Full record

ArticleGlobal health action2024

Ten years of ear, nose and throat (ENT) services in Southern Africa: a scoping review.

Lufunda Lukama, Colleen Aldous, Warren Kuhn, Charles Michelo, Chester Kalinda

Abstract readScoping Review
In one paragraph

Article in Global health action, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Lufunda LukamaCollege of Health Sciences, Nelson R Mandela School of Clinical Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-4056-0884
Colleen AldousCollege of Health Sciences, Nelson R Mandela School of Clinical Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-7199-9160
Warren KuhnCollege of Health Sciences, Nelson R Mandela School of Clinical Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0003-0631-3975
Charles MicheloGlobal Health Institute, Nkwazi Research University, Lusaka, Zambia.ORCID 0000-0002-1697-8519
Chester KalindaBill and Joyce Cummings Institute of Global Health, University of Global Health Equity, Kigali, Rwanda.ORCID 0000-0002-8144-0248

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWhile ear, nose, and throat (ENT) diseases are a substantial threat to global health, comprehensive reviews of ENT services in Southern Africa remain scarce.

objectiveThis scoping review provides a decade-long overview of ENT services in Southern Africa and identifies gaps in healthcare provision. From the current literature, we hope to provide evidence-based recommendations to mitigate the challenges faced by the resource-limited ENT service. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCOhost, Cochrane Library, Cochrane Library, and Scopus. REVIEW

methodsOn several databases, we conducted a comprehensive literature search on both quantitative and qualitative studies on ENT services in Southern Africa, published between 1 January 2014 and 27 February 2024. The extracted data from the analyzed studies was summarized into themes.

resultsFour themes in the fourteen studies included in the final analysis described the existing ENT services in Southern Africa: 1. Workforce scarcity and knowledge inadequacies, 2. Deficiencies in ENT infrastructure, equipment, and medication, 3. Inadequate ENT disease screening, management, and rehabilitation and 4. A lack of telehealth technology.

conclusionThe Southern African ENT health service faces many disease screening, treatment, and rehabilitation challenges, including critical shortages of workforce, equipment, and medication. These challenges, impeding patient access to ENT healthcare, could be effectively addressed by implementing deliberate policies to train a larger workforce, increase ENT funding for equipment and medication, promote telehealth, and reduce the patient cost of care.

Indexed as

Otorhinolaryngologic DiseasesAfrica, SouthernDelivery of Health CareHealth Services AccessibilityHumansOtolaryngologyEar, nose, and throat (ENT)health servicesresource-limited settingSouthern Africa

Identifiers

PMID38932660
PMCPMC11212562

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.