Characteristics of longitudinal maternal health studies in sub‐Saharan Africa: A systematic mapping of literature between 2012 and 2022

TL;DR

This study maps maternal health research in sub-Saharan Africa from 2012 to 2022, revealing gaps in research on major causes of maternal mortality.

Contribution

The study systematically maps longitudinal maternal health research in sub-Saharan Africa to identify research gaps aligned with regional health priorities.

Findings

Most studies focused on HIV, nutrition, and malaria, while neglecting hypertensive disorders and postpartum hemorrhage.

Research was concentrated in eastern and southern Africa, with limited coverage in other regions.

The National Institutes of Health and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation were the top funders of maternal health studies.

Abstract

High maternal mortality rates in sub‐Saharan Africa necessitate the need for aligned research focusing on prevalent causes and neglected conditions in the region.

This mapping review aimed to describe the characteristics of longitudinal maternal health studies between 2012 and 2022 in sub‐Saharan Africa and identify gaps in priority conditions or geographical locations.

We identified references through a Medline (PubMed) search covering September 2012 to June 2022.

We included prospective cohort or clinical trials that enrolled at least 1000 pregnant women, with a study site in sub‐Saharan Africa, and published in English or French.

Screening and data extraction were done in duplicate using EPPI‐reviewer software. Descriptive analysis was used to summarize the results, identifying patterns in studies across time, country, study design, topics, and funders.

We identified 213 eligible studies, which were covered in 534 publications. We identified studies in 33 of the 48 sub‐Saharan African countries, with the majority in east and southern Africa. The predominant study topics were HIV (36.4%), nutrition (20%), and malaria (16.3%), with very few publications on hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (6.4%), ante/postpartum hemorrhage (3.7%), and sexually transmitted infections (3.2%). More studies were cohorts (115/213; 54%) than clinical trials. The National Institutes of Health (31.5%), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (22.1%), and USAID (10.8%) were the largest research funders.

Identifying research trends and mismatches between research topics and disease burden provides useful information for guiding future research prioritization. In particular, gaps exist for studies on hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and ante/postpartum hemorrhage, among the top causes of maternal mortality in sub‐Saharan Africa.

Mapping of maternal health studies in sub‐Saharan Africa reveals research gaps for important maternal mortality causes, including hypertensive disorders and ante/postpartum hemorrhage.

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