Neurosurgery Research Output in Ethiopia: A Scoping Review

Hodan Abdi; Zhe Wang; Edward I Ham; Tsegazeab Laeke; Kee B Park; Ahmed Negida; Yemisirach Bizuneh; Abenezer Tirsit

doi:10.1016/j.wneu.2022.05.053

Neurosurgery Research Output in Ethiopia: A Scoping Review

World Neurosurg. 2022 Aug:164:291-297. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2022.05.053. Epub 2022 May 21.

Authors

Hodan Abdi¹, Zhe Wang², Edward I Ham³, Tsegazeab Laeke⁴, Kee B Park⁵, Ahmed Negida⁵, Yemisirach Bizuneh⁶, Abenezer Tirsit⁴

Affiliations

¹ Program in Global Surgery and Social Change, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Electronic address: hodaniabdi1@gmail.com.
² Stony Brook University, Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook, New York, USA.
³ Program in Global Surgery and Social Change, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Stony Brook University, Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook, New York, USA.
⁴ Neurosurgery Units, School of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
⁵ Program in Global Surgery and Social Change, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
⁶ Neurosurgery Units, School of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

PMID: 35609725
DOI: 10.1016/j.wneu.2022.05.053

Abstract

Background: Neurosurgery-specific research plays a critical role in improving outcomes in patients with neurosurgical diseases. Despite the high burden of neurosurgical diseases in Ethiopia, little is known about types of neurosurgical research from Ethiopia. The goal of this scoping review is to assess the quantity and types of neurosurgical research published in peer-reviewed journals by authors from Ethiopia.

Methods: PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, and Scopus were searched for Ethiopian neurosurgery literature published from 2001 to 2021. We selected articles based on the following criteria: articles must 1) discuss topics within neurosurgery and 2) focus on clinical practice and/or public health in Ethiopia. We collected data on research originality, study designs, and clinical versus public health research. The frequencies and percentages of categorical variables were reported. All analyses were conducted using Jamovi software.

Results: Of the 362 results, 89 neurosurgical research articles were included in the final analysis. Of the 89 articles, case reports/series were most common (28.7%), followed by retrospective cohort (20.7%) and prospective cohort studies (18.4%). There were 8 literature reviews (9.2%) and 1 systematic review and meta-analysis (1.1%). No randomized controlled trial was found. Of all articles, 66 (75.9%) focused on clinical practice, and 21 (23.6%) were related to the public health aspect of neurosurgery. Forty-two articles (48.3%) included authors only from Ethiopia; 37 articles (42.5%) involved collaboration between Ethiopian and authors from another country, and 8 articles (9.2%) did not have Ethiopian authors.

Conclusions: Neurosurgery research from Ethiopia is lacking, despite its high disease burden. Case reports/series and cohort studies remain the mainstay, with few systematic reviews and no randomized controlled trial. International collaboration accounts for approximately half of Ethiopian neurosurgery research output. Further research support and infrastructure should be developed to encourage neurosurgery articles from Ethiopia.

Keywords: Capacity building; Ethiopia; Global health; Global neurosurgery; LMIC; Research.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Bibliometrics
Ethiopia
Humans
Neurosurgery*
Prospective Studies
Retrospective Studies