ArticleAfrican journal of primary health care & family medicine2026
Understanding barriers to treatment-seeking in Mseleni joint disease: A multistaged study in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Article in African journal of primary health care & family medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMseleni joint disease (MJD) is a degenerative chondrodysplasia of unknown aetiology that is endemic to uMkhanyekude in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Delayed treatment-seeking for MJD results in severe joint pain, which commonly progresses to permanent loss of mobility and reliance on caregivers.
aimThis study aimed to identify systemic, social and cultural barriers to MJD treatment-seeking from the perspectives of patients and healthcare providers.
settingThe research was conducted at the Mseleni Hospital in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
methodsA multistage mixed methods study was conducted. Stage One involved quantitative analysis of patient medical records (n = 53) and administration of questionnaires to patients (n = 37). Stage Two involved a thematic analysis of interviews with MJD patients (n = 6), nurses (n = 7) and treating MJD (n = 9). Findings from both stages were analysed thematically to barriers to treatment-seeking for MJD.
resultsTreatment-seeking barriers fell into three domains: (1) current approaches to treatment and self-management, (2) aetiological perspectives and (3) systemic barriers to healthcare access. Treatment and self-management through traditional medicine and delays in the primary healthcare system were cited as reasons for latent treatment-seeking. Healthcare providers highlighted structural barriers including unstandardised record-keeping, poor cross-facility communication and limited resources, while MJD patients emphasised failed treatments, pain and immobility and inadequate care as key obstacles. Variable aetiological perspectives between MJD patients and healthcare providers were reflected in appraisals of treatment. Gender disparities in sociocultural expectations and stigma-linked to symptoms restricted women's access to care.
conclusionDiffering perspectives between MJD patients and healthcare providers contributed to delayed treatment-seeking and hindered the management of MJD. Patients discussed barriers to MJD relative to traditional knowledge, beliefs and lived experience, while healthcare providers discussed barriers relative to systemic and structural factors through a biomedical lens.Contribution: This study highlights the need to align clinical approaches to treating MJD with patient and provider experiences of this disease to address both individual and systemic barriers to treatment.
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.