The Socioeconomic Burden of Osteoarthritis in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Determinants of Healthcare Inequities: A Scoping Review Protocol

Introduction: Access to musculoskeletal healthcare services in Sub-Saharan Africa is inadequate. As osteoarthritis is the most prevalent chronic osteoarticular disease globally, it's essential to understand its social and economic impact, as well as the determinants of inequities in access to healthcare services in Sub-Saharan Africa. The absence of systematized knowledge on this topic makes this review pertinent. However, due to data scarcity, assessing this burden is challenging. Objective: To map and summarize the available literature up to June 2025 on the socioeconomic burden and health inequity determinants among the Sub-Saharan Africa population with osteoarthritis. Inclusion Criteria: This scoping review will include all publications, including gray literature, published up to June 2025.  Eligible studies will focus on adults diagnosed with OA who are residents of, or were born in, Sub-Saharan Africa. Outcomes of interest include work productivity, absenteeism, sick leave, return to work, and retirement among patients with osteoarthritis, as well as disparities in healthcare access. Methods: A predefined search strategy will be applied to MEDLINE (via PubMed), Embase, African Journals Online, and African Index Medicus. We will also include gray literature sources such as Google Scholar, Research Square, OpenGrey, manuals, books, medical society websites, secondary databases, thesis and dissertation repositories, and conference proceedings. Study selection will be conducted in two stages by a pair of reviewers who will independently screen titles and abstracts according to the eligibility criteria, followed by a full-text review of the selected studies. Data extraction will be performed using a standardized charting form developed by the review team.