SynthesisFrontiers in health services2026
Facilitators and barriers to blood and blood product accessibility and use in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Frontiers in health services, 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
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Access to safe blood and blood products is a global health priority, requiring concerted public health efforts to ensure universal access to reduce the global disease burden. However, there are inequities in access to safe and adequate blood and blood products in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), leading to marked challenges in meeting the clinical needs of patients with diverse pathologies. This study used the WHO health system building blocks to systematically synthesize the literature to understand the barriers to blood and blood product usage in SSA. Methods: We used the PRISMA guideline to systematically search relevant articles using six electronic databases: Web of Science, MEDLINE, PubMed, PscyInfo, Google Scholar, and Global Health databases between 2005 and 2023. The risk of bias for included studies was assessed using a modified Joanna Briggs Checklist. Inductive thematic analysis was performed to thematize the extracted data based on the WHO health system building blocks. Results: Sixty-five studies representing eighteen countries in SSA were included for review. Barriers included transfusion delays, low transfusion rates, inappropriate practices, untimely referrals, blood stock-outs, poor adherence to guidelines, lack of standardized protocols, poor transfusion management systems, poor leadership/governance, and health workforce shortages. Facilitators included drone technology use, prompt referrals, appropriate transfusions, availability of skilled workforce, health information systems, and effective leadership and governance. Conclusions: Numerous barriers to blood and blood product access in SSA exist. Addressing service delivery barriers such as transfusion delays, product stock-outs, and ineffective governance of transfusion systems would be vital. Further, innovative technology, boosting referral systems, and practicing appropriate use of blood would engender sustainable access to safe blood services in SSA. Innovations such as the successful deployment of drone technology in Rwanda are worth emulating and scaling across the continent. Also, financing and effective leadership should be further researched as potential facilitators of safe blood accessibility and use in Africa. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42023434335.
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.