Full Text Available

Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.

Prevalence of babies born with neural tube defects and geospatial mapping of therapeutic services: a systematic review

Introduction: Neural tube defects (NTDs) are an important global health concern with high morbidity and mortality. Enhancing access to healthcare for children born with NTDs is crucial for improving health systems and service delivery. Methods: We conducted a systematic review to assess the global p...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Zolo Ossou, Andre Yvan
Other Authors: Maswime, Salome
Format: Thesis
Language:English
English
Published: Division of General Surgery 2025
Subjects:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1867614399290671104
access_status_str Open Access
author Zolo Ossou, Andre Yvan
author2 Maswime, Salome
author_browse Maswime, Salome
Zolo Ossou, Andre Yvan
author_facet Maswime, Salome
Zolo Ossou, Andre Yvan
author_sort Zolo Ossou, Andre Yvan
collection Thesis
description Introduction: Neural tube defects (NTDs) are an important global health concern with high morbidity and mortality. Enhancing access to healthcare for children born with NTDs is crucial for improving health systems and service delivery. Methods: We conducted a systematic review to assess the global prevalence of NTDs and the accessibility of healthcare services. Our search spanned databases like PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus, focusing on NTD prevalence, healthcare service mapping, and access barriers. We followed a standardized data extraction process, and the study is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42023425843). Results: From 3 067 records, 65 studies met our inclusion criteria, mainly focusing on newborns. The study durations range from six months to 40 years. The NTD prevalence was between 0.4 and 215.13 per 10 000 births, with Spina Bifida, Anencephaly, and Encephalocele being the most common. The African Region was the WHO region with the highest prevalence while the Western Pacific Region had the lowest prevalence. One study used geospatial mapping to identify healthcare access barriers. Conclusion: Our study revealed wide disparities in the prevalence rates of neural tube defects with the African region having the highest prevalence. Geospatial mapping was not used to assess access to healthcare services for children born with NTDs in almost all the studies. This underscores the global challenge of access to surgical care for children born with NTDs and the need for strengthening healthcare services in settings with high prevalences.
format Thesis
id oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/41932
institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language English
eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:51:25.554Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2025
publishDateRange 2025
publishDateSort 2025
publisher Division of General Surgery
publisherStr Division of General Surgery
record_format dspace
source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/41932 Prevalence of babies born with neural tube defects and geospatial mapping of therapeutic services: a systematic review Zolo Ossou, Andre Yvan Maswime, Salome Isiagi, Moses Accessibility of Healthcare Geospatial Mapping Healthcare Disparities Neural Tube Defects Policy Reform Introduction: Neural tube defects (NTDs) are an important global health concern with high morbidity and mortality. Enhancing access to healthcare for children born with NTDs is crucial for improving health systems and service delivery. Methods: We conducted a systematic review to assess the global prevalence of NTDs and the accessibility of healthcare services. Our search spanned databases like PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus, focusing on NTD prevalence, healthcare service mapping, and access barriers. We followed a standardized data extraction process, and the study is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42023425843). Results: From 3 067 records, 65 studies met our inclusion criteria, mainly focusing on newborns. The study durations range from six months to 40 years. The NTD prevalence was between 0.4 and 215.13 per 10 000 births, with Spina Bifida, Anencephaly, and Encephalocele being the most common. The African Region was the WHO region with the highest prevalence while the Western Pacific Region had the lowest prevalence. One study used geospatial mapping to identify healthcare access barriers. Conclusion: Our study revealed wide disparities in the prevalence rates of neural tube defects with the African region having the highest prevalence. Geospatial mapping was not used to assess access to healthcare services for children born with NTDs in almost all the studies. This underscores the global challenge of access to surgical care for children born with NTDs and the need for strengthening healthcare services in settings with high prevalences. 2025-10-01T11:42:41Z 2025-10-01T11:42:41Z 2025 2025-10-01T11:40:34Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters MSc http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41932 en eng application/pdf Division of General Surgery Faculty of Health Sciences University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Accessibility of Healthcare
Geospatial Mapping
Healthcare Disparities
Neural Tube Defects
Policy Reform
Zolo Ossou, Andre Yvan
Prevalence of babies born with neural tube defects and geospatial mapping of therapeutic services: a systematic review
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Prevalence of babies born with neural tube defects and geospatial mapping of therapeutic services: a systematic review
title_full Prevalence of babies born with neural tube defects and geospatial mapping of therapeutic services: a systematic review
title_fullStr Prevalence of babies born with neural tube defects and geospatial mapping of therapeutic services: a systematic review
title_full_unstemmed Prevalence of babies born with neural tube defects and geospatial mapping of therapeutic services: a systematic review
title_short Prevalence of babies born with neural tube defects and geospatial mapping of therapeutic services: a systematic review
title_sort prevalence of babies born with neural tube defects and geospatial mapping of therapeutic services a systematic review
topic Accessibility of Healthcare
Geospatial Mapping
Healthcare Disparities
Neural Tube Defects
Policy Reform
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41932
work_keys_str_mv AT zoloossouandreyvan prevalenceofbabiesbornwithneuraltubedefectsandgeospatialmappingoftherapeuticservicesasystematicreview