Prevalence of Sickle Cell Disease in Africa: Protocol for A Meta-Analysis

This protocol outlines a systematic review with meta-analysis to estimate the prevalence of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) across Africa, focusing on geographic and temporal trends while accounting for methodological variability in existing studies. Using data from four major databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, BASE, and Scopus), the review will include studies published between 1994 and 2024 that report primary prevalence data for SCD in African populations using validated diagnostic methods. A team of eleven reviewers will screen titles, abstracts, and full texts, extract key data on study characteristics, diagnostic methods, and prevalence rates, and assess the risk of bias using the JBI checklist for prevalence studies. They will perform the synthesis using random-effects meta-analysis, supported by subgroup and sensitivity analyses to explore heterogeneity. The final analysis results will be presented in a manuscript for publication, and will share the extracted data with an open access repository. This unfunded review aims to provide comprehensive and reliable insights into SCD prevalence to inform public health strategies