COVID-19 and the practice of rheumatology in Africa: big changes to services from
            the shockwave of a pandemic

Akintayo, Richard Oluyinka; Akpabio, Akpabio; Kalla, Asgar Ali; Dey, Dzifa; Migowa, Angela; Bahiri, R.; Miedany, Yasser El; Hadef, Djohra; Hamdi, Wafa; Oyoo, Omondi; Slimani, Samy; Yerima, Abubakar; Taha, Yassmin; Adebajo, Adewale; Adelowo, Olufemi; Tikly, Mohammed; Ghozlani, I.; Abdelghani, Kawther Ben; Fouad, Nermeen Ahmed; Mosa, Doaa Mosad; Mikkawy, D El; Abu-Zaid, Mohammed Hassan; Abdel-Magied, Rasha A.

doi:10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-218273

Cited by 11 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Even before the pandemic, disparities existed in healthcare systems worldwide, including rheumatology education [2]. These may be widened as the virus erodes through the already weakened health infrastructure, impacting face-to-face education, and the maintaining of clinical skills by practising [3,4]. By mid-August 2020, the global number of COVID-19 cases has crossed 21 million, with the highest number in the USA (5.5 million crossed), Brazil (3.3 million crossed), and India (2.5 million) [5].…”

Section: Key Pointsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rheumatology education across the globe has been disrupted. Cancellation of face-to-face educational meetings and conferences and trainee redeployment and postponement of examinations have been seen across the world [4,6,7]. Rheumatology training hours for undergraduates are limited, but such educational activities often induce a choice to take up rheumatology [8].…”

Section: Key Pointsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Moving towards online rheumatology education in the era of COVID-19

2020

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The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has unsettled conventional medical education, hastening a switch to digital platforms and open-access publishing. Rheumatology is a fast evolving academic discipline that stands to gain by this switch. Most rheumatology textbooks are now available in digital formats, and these are complemented with live updating educational hubs such as UpToDate and ClinicalKey. Emerging topics of COVID-19 on these proprietary platforms are now freely available to all specialists. Social media channels, particularly Twitter, are becoming major players in the era of COVID-19 by offering online journal clubs, enabling fast dissemination of influential articles, and facilitating interactive education. Indexed rheumatology journals, in turn, aid online education by opening access to recommendations and other materials that are rapidly changing research and practice worldwide. Research peer review additionally offers learning experience to novice and seasoned researchers and authors. Global rheumatology societies have online learning resources, which are changing their format and geographic reach to meet the changing needs in the times of pandemic. While online teaching lacks emotional connections between mentors and mentees, switch to a more interactive format of education and regular contacts may partly solve the issue. Rheumatologists can take the lead in these challenging times and contribute more to online scholarly activities which are aimed to maintain and enrich education.

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Section: Key Pointsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Key Pointsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moving towards online rheumatology education in the era of COVID-19

2020

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“…Findings showed that there are far more rheumatologists in northern Africa than in other regions, with the lowest number in central Africa; that women represent 72% of rheumatologists; and that 44% of rheumatologists treat both adults and children. 2 With ongoing lockdown in several countries, appreciation for the usefulness of virtual conferencing and telemedicine has increased. Until now, telemedicine has not had substantial political support in many African countries, although the prospect of its use to supple ment service deficiencies in health care has been a lingering promise.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…In response to the pandemic, an unprecedented number of research collaborations began in African rheumatology, mainly facilitated through the networks of the African League Against Rheumatism (AFLAR). The first collaborative effort was the pan-African survey 2 of the experience of rheumatologists across all five regions of the continent, done between April 21 and May 7, 2020, which provided a far-reaching understanding of the structure of rheumatology services and the degree of service disruption as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the survey, no data were available on the number and distribution of rheumatologists across the continent.…”

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COVID-19 and African rheumatology: progress in adversity

Akintayo

Kalla

Adebajo

2020

The Lancet Rheumatology

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Global Perspective on the Impact of the COVID‐19 Pandemic on Rheumatology and Health Equity

Hsieh

Dey

Grainger

et al. 2023

Arthritis Care & Research

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Although the public health emergency associated with the COVID‐19 pandemic has ended, challenges remain, especially for individuals with rheumatic diseases. We aimed to assess the historical and ongoing effects of COVID‐19 on individuals with rheumatic diseases and rheumatology practices globally, with specific attention to vulnerable communities and lessons learned. We reviewed literature from several countries and regions, including Africa, Australia and New Zealand, China, Europe, Latin America, and the US. In this review, we summarize literature that not only examines the impact of the pandemic on individuals with rheumatic diseases, but also research that reports the lasting changes to rheumatology patient care and practice, and health service use. Across countries, challenges faced by individuals with rheumatic diseases during the pandemic included disruptions in health care and medication supply shortages. These challenges were associated with worse disease and mental health outcomes in some studies, particularly among those who had social vulnerabilities defined by socioeconomic, race, or rurality. Moreover, rheumatology practice was impacted in all regions, with the uptake of telemedicine and changes in health care utilization. While many regions developed rapid guidelines to disseminate scientific information, misinformation and disinformation remained widespread. Finally, vaccine uptake among individuals with rheumatic diseases has been uneven across the world. As the acute phase of the pandemic wanes, ongoing efforts are needed to improve health care access, stabilize rheumatology drug supplies, improve public health communication, and implement evidence‐based vaccination practices to reduce COVID‐19 morbidity and mortality among individuals with rheumatic diseases.

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COVID-19 and the practice of rheumatology in Africa: big changes to services from the shockwave of a pandemic

Cited by 11 publications

References 8 publications

Moving towards online rheumatology education in the era of COVID-19

Moving towards online rheumatology education in the era of COVID-19

COVID-19 and African rheumatology: progress in adversity

Global Perspective on the Impact of the COVID‐19 Pandemic on Rheumatology and Health Equity

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