{
  "abstract": "Study Design: Scoping Review.\n\nObjective: Spine research is resource-intensive and thus often performed in high-income countries. Consequently, findings may not be generalizable to low-resource areas. This study aimed to assess the current state of primary clinical spine disease research in Sub-Saharan Africa.\n\nMethods: All spine studies published in English or French in Sub-Saharan Africa in the past 50 years with at least ten patients were included. A study quality variable was created that identified randomized studies, prospective studies, and studies that include a control group as having a higher level of scientific rigor.\n\nResults: A total of 154 spine studies have been published from at least 26 countries since 1975 (some included multiple). There was a significant increase in research productivity after 2005 (p<0.001). The highest number of publications came from Nigeria with 52 (34%), followed by Tanzania (25 papers, 16%) and Ethiopia (12 papers, 8%).\n\nNearly half of studies involved collaborative partnerships. On univariate analysis, lower-income countries were more likely to engage in collaboration with other countries (OR 3.2, 95% CI: 1.2-9.8) and to receive external funding (OR 7.0, 95% CI: 2.3-20.4). Further, collaborative studies were found to produce higher quality academic publication (OR 2.0, 95% CI: 0.94-4.2).\n\nConclusion: There is a relative paucity of spine literature from Sub-Saharan Africa. Higher research quality was associated with collaborative engagement. These results support the development of global health partnerships that may foster high-quality research aimed at addressing the burden of spine disease in Africa.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Institute for Global Orthopaedics and Traumatology, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, United States",
    "University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, CA, United States",
    "Geisinger School of Medicine, Scranton, PA, United States",
    "Department of Neurological Surgery, Och Spine at New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medicine, United States",
    "Department of Neurosurgery, Muhimbili Orthopaedic Institute, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania",
    "Samuel J. Wood Library, C.V. Starr, Weill Cornell Medical College Biomedical Information Center, New York, NY, United States",
    "Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, United States"
  ],
  "article_type": "review article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 16,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Charlotte F. Wahle",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5928-9484"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Maithily Diaz"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Michael Oravic"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Shravya Kakulamarri"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Babapelumi Adejuyigbe",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7373-3596"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Chellandra Samuels"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Chibuikem Anthony Ikwuegbuenyi",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3646-7713"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Romani Sabas",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8002-2167"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Drew N. Wright"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        6
      ],
      "name": "Saam Morshed"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        6
      ],
      "name": "Ashraf N. El Naga",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4655-700X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Roger Härtl"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Hamisi Shabani"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        6
      ],
      "name": "David Shearer"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        6
      ],
      "name": "David Gendelberg",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8032-4651"
    },
    {
      "name": "East Africa Spine Trauma Research Group"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0fab98h3vwm19.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1177/21925682261498667",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13710443/",
  "id": "0fab98h3vwm19",
  "issns": [
    "2192-5682",
    "2192-5690"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/21925682261498667",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Literature Review"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2739|Global Health and Surgery"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223652279",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": "PMC13710443",
  "pmid": "42929197",
  "published": "2026-10-26",
  "publisher": "SAGE Publications",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0fab98h3vwm19.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-31T12:21:25Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13710443",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1177/21925682261498667"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2739|Global Health and Surgery",
      "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health"
    }
  ],
  "title": "The Current State of Primary Clinical Spine Disease Research in Sub-Saharan Africa — A Scoping Review",
  "title_text": "The Current State of Primary Clinical Spine Disease Research in Sub-Saharan Africa — A Scoping Review",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-31T12:21:25Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0fab98h3vwm19",
  "venue": "Global Spine Journal",
  "versions": []
}