Availability and Use of Essential Opioid Analgesics in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Scoping Review Protocol

INTRODUCTION: The treatment of acute, peri-operative, and chronic pain by healthcare practitioners and health systems requires appropriate access to and availability of essential opioid medications. While opioids are often oversupplied and overprescribed in high-income countries, there are significant inequities as many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) experience severe shortages. In fact, while the richest 10% in the world reside in countries receiving almost 90% of all available opioids, 50% of the poorest in the world reside in countries receiving just 1% of all available opioids. Understanding the social, economic, cultural, and regulatory barriers to access essential opioid analgesics in LMICs is critical in delineating and prioritizing appropriate interventions. We aim to conduct a scoping review on the availability and usage of essential opioid analgesics in LMICs, specifically in sub-Saharan Africa, to identify barriers, themes, and knowledge gaps. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We will utilize the framework for conducting scoping reviews by Arksey and O’Malley. We will perform the search for articles in 3 electronic databases (i.e., SCOPUS, PubMed, Embase) and relevant gray literature. Only articles in English will be included. There will be no restriction on the publication period. All articles will directly involve either the availability and/or the use of essential opioid analgesics. Studies will be restricted to focus on sub-Saharan Africa. We will use a tailored extraction frame to extract relevant information from published articles that meet our inclusion criteria. We will analyze the data using both descriptive statistics and thematic analysis on the main study questions. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Since we will not be collecting primary data, formal ethical approval is not required. Our study findings will be disseminated through abstracts, conference presentations, and peer-reviewed publications. HIGHLIGHTS: 50 percent of the poorest in the world reside in countries receiving just 1 percent of all available opioids. There is a paucity of data analyzing the inequitable distribution of essential opioid analgesics worldwide. Our scoping review will identify barriers, themes, and knowledge gaps on the availability and use of essential opioids in SSA. It will identify areas for further research and potential policy initiatives;