Picture of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Research in West Africa—A Scoping Review

Bakare, Muideen O.; Onu, Justus Uchenna; Bello-Mojeed, Mashudat A.; Okidegbe, N.; Onu, N.N.; Münir, Kerim

doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2021.101888

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…This data is consistent with a review reporting that Egypt (n=16) produced more autism publications than all Arab countries, aside from Saudi Arabia (n=23), between 1992 and 2012 (Hussein & Taha, 2013). Three previous reviews identified four molecular publications from SSA up to 2016 from SA (n=2), Nigeria (n=1), and Tanzania (n=1) (Abubakar et al ., 2016; Franz et al ., 2017; Bakare et al ., 2022). Therefore, we showed that there has been an increase in SSA autism publications from 2016 to 2021 (n=9).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given that three SA publications were identified after 2016, SA did not substantially increase their publication output, but still had the second highest number of publications from SSA. Bakare et al ., (2022) identified two publications from Nigeria published after 2016 (Blaurock-Busch & Nwokolo Chijioke, 2018; Omotosho et al ., 2018) that were not captured in our search, meaning that a total of five Nigerian publications after 2016 were identified. These two studies were not identified in our review due to different search databases.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The considerable shortage of ASD research in Africa, particularly molecular studies, was evident in the three most recent reviews of ASD research in African regions (Abubakar et al ., 2016; Bakare et al ., 2022; Franz et al ., 2017). Abubakar et al ., (2016) reported the volume and scope of ASD research from Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) over 80 years up to June 2016.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They also found that SSA had published 96 times fewer articles than North America over the same period (Franz et al ., 2017). Bakare et al ., (2022) identified 41 studies in a review of all ASD research in West Africa from 1978 to March 2021. Together, the three reviews highlight the dearth of ASD research in these regions compared to other continents.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Molecular autism research in Africa: a scoping review comparing publication outputs to Brazil, India, the UK, and the USA

Frickel

Bam

Buchanan

et al. 2022

Preprint

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The increased awareness of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is accompanied by burgeoning ASD research, and concerted research efforts are trying to elucidate the molecular ASD aetiology. However, much of this research is concentrated in the Global North, with recent reviews of research in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) highlighting the significant shortage of ASD publications from this region. The most limited focus area was molecular research with only two molecular studies ever published from SSA, both being from South Africa (SA). We examine the molecular ASD research publications from 2016 to 2021 from all African countries, with a special focus on SA. The SSA publications are compared to Brazil and India, two non-African, low-to-middle-income countries (LMICs), and to the UK and USA, two high-income countries (HICs). There were 228 publications across all regions of interest; only three publications were from SA. Brazil (n=29) and India (n=27) had almost 10 times more publications than SA. The HICs had more publications than the LMICs, with the UK (n=62) and the USA (n=74) having approximately 20 to 25 times more publications than SA, respectively. Given that SA has substantial research capacity as demonstrated by its recent research on SARS-CoV-2, we explore potential reasons for this deficit in molecular ASD publications from SA. We compare mental health research outputs, GDP per capita, research and development expenditure, and the number of psychiatrists and child psychiatrists per 100,000 people across all regions. The UK and the USA had significantly higher numbers for all these indicators, consistent with their higher publication output. Among the LMICs, SA can potentially produce more molecular ASD research, however, there are numerous barriers that need to be addressed to facilitate increased research capacity. These include cultural stigmas, challenges in accessing mental healthcare, shortages of specialists in the public sector, and the unreliability of ASD diagnostic tools across the 11 official SA languages. The unique genetic architecture of African populations presents an untapped reservoir for finding novel genetic loci associated with ASD. Therefore, addressing the disparity in molecular ASD research between the Global North and SSA is integral to global advancements in ASD research.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Molecular autism research in Africa: a scoping review comparing publication outputs to Brazil, India, the UK, and the USA

Frickel

Bam

Buchanan

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…In sub-Saharan Africa, the number of children with DD including autism has increased by 71% over the past 25 years ( Global Research on Developmental Disabilities Collaborators, 2018 ). However, research on autism is limited in this region ( Abubakar et al, 2016 ; Bakare et al, 2022 ; Divan et al, 2021 ; Franz et al, 2017 ). Similar gaps exist in service development and knowledge on other DD, which often co-occur with diagnosed autism, especially in low-resource contexts where only more severe cases come to clinical attention.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stakeholder experiences, attitudes and perspectives on inclusive education for children with developmental disabilities in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review of qualitative studies

Genovesi

Jakobsson

Nugent

et al. 2022

Autism

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Inclusive education is a key strategy in addressing the needs of children with autism and other developmental disabilities in sub-Saharan Africa, who rarely access specialist care or quality education. We aimed to systematically review qualitative research on stakeholder experiences, attitudes and perspectives on inclusive education for pupils with developmental disabilities in mainstream schools in sub-Saharan Africa. We searched five databases and selected relevant studies through a two-stage screening process. We synthesised the papers identified through template analysis of the Results and Discussion sections, guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Thirty-two publications met the inclusion criteria. The studies were conducted in seven countries and explored the experiences of pupils with developmental disabilities, parents, peers without developmental disabilities and teachers. Multiple barriers (e.g. unclear policies, insufficient training and support for teachers) and opportunities (e.g. teachers’ commitment to inclusion, collaboration between teachers, the work of non-governmental organisations (NGOs)) for implementing inclusive education for pupils with developmental disabilities in sub-Saharan Africa were identified, occurring across national and community contexts and school, classroom and individual teacher levels. To effectively implement inclusive education for pupils with developmental disabilities, teachers need access to appropriate training, resources and support. Governments can capitalise on motivated teachers and the relevant work of NGOs. Lay abstract In sub-Saharan Africa, there are few services for children with developmental disabilities such as autism and intellectual disability. One way to support these children is to include them in mainstream schools. However, currently, African children with developmental disabilities are often excluded from mainstream education opportunities. People involved (e.g. teachers, families and children) can offer information on factors that could ease or interfere with inclusion. This article discusses the findings of published studies that explored the views of relevant groups on including children with developmental disabilities in mainstream schools in sub-Saharan Africa. We systematically searched the literature and identified 32 relevant articles from seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa. We found that unclear policies and insufficient training, resources and support for teachers often blocked the implementation of inclusive education. Factors in favour of inclusive education were the commitment of many teachers to include pupils with developmental disabilities and the work of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which provided resources and training. This review suggests that motivated teachers should be provided with appropriate training, resources and support for inclusive education, directly and by promoting the work of NGOs.

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Assessing Autism Knowledge Across the Global Landscape Using the ASK-Q

Harrison

Naqvi

Smit

et al. 2023

J Autism Dev Disord

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Picture of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Research in West Africa—A Scoping Review

Cited by 9 publications

References 35 publications

Molecular autism research in Africa: a scoping review comparing publication outputs to Brazil, India, the UK, and the USA

Molecular autism research in Africa: a scoping review comparing publication outputs to Brazil, India, the UK, and the USA

Stakeholder experiences, attitudes and perspectives on inclusive education for children with developmental disabilities in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review of qualitative studies

Assessing Autism Knowledge Across the Global Landscape Using the ASK-Q

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