The Use of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) for Care of People with Cardiovascular Disease in African Countries A Scoping Review Protocol

Abstract

The persistence of poor healthcare outcomes from cardiovascular disease has caused a shift towards measuring patientreported outcomes (PROMs) as a method to improve quality of care. Some patientreported outcomes have been associated with improved mortality and readmission-rates; however, the majority of research in this field originates from high-income and/or nonAfrican countries.This protocol is for a scoping review of the current use of PROMs in care of patients with cardiovascular disease within African countries. The goal of this review is to determine the extent of published literature on the measurement and use of PROMs for cardiovascular care within Africa. In doing this, the aim is to identify: strengths and weaknesses in PROM use, barriers and assets into implementation, the pool of PROM tools in use in the setting, and gaps in the current literature.Eligible studies will have at least one study site located in an African country and use a PROM in clinical care or research of patients with any of the following primary cardiovascular diseases: coronary artery disease, heart failure, arrhythmias, cardiomyopathy, and/or congenital heart disease. Examples of patientreported outcome measures include: symptoms, functional status, depression, selfefficacy, ADLs.Methods: The search will utilize seven databases, searching from the earliest available article until the day of the final search. Each title/abstract will be screened by two reviewers, with a third reviewer serving as a tie-breaker in the case of a disagreement about the inclusion criteria. Articles which make it past the titles/abstract screen will moved to the full text review. During this phase, relevant evidence from each article will be charted on an excel sheet. Results will categorized and published in a per-reviewed manuscript.

Acknowledgements

This protocol format is based on work from the Joanna Briggs Institute.

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