The Impact of Social Stigma for Children with Cleft Lip and/or Palate in Low-resource Areas: A Systematic Review

There are still children with cleft lip and/or palate (CLP) in low-resource areas who face social rejection. This stigma disadvantages children in education, employment, marriage, and community, and is exacerbated by barriers to care. Our study objective was to conduct a systematic review of the impact of social stigma of CLP for children in low-resource areas. We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines. A systematic search was conducted of 3 databases: Ovid Embase, Ovid Medline, and the African Journal Online from 2000 to October 5 2018. Common themes were identified using a grounded theory approach and quantitatively summarized. The Joanna Briggs Institute criteria were used to evaluate the risk-of-bias assessments. Four hundred seventy-seven articles were screened; 15 articles were included that focused on the impact of social stigma on CLP in low-resource areas. This was limited to English articles. The majority of studies originated in Nigeria or India. Themes were reported as follows: societal beliefs (n = 9; 60%), social impact (n = 7; 46%), marriage (n = 7; 46%), education (n = 6; 40%), employment (n = 5; 33%), and psychological distress (n = 3; 20%). Causes include the effect of “God’s will,” supernatural forces, evil spirits or ancestral spirits, exposure to an eclipse, black magic, or a contagion. Further, children with CLP may not be worth a full name or considered human and killed. Awareness of the impact of social stigma for children with CLP in low-resource areas generates support toward national education and awareness in low-resource areas.