Pelvic floor disorders and associated factors among women in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis protocol

Background: Pelvic floor disorders (PFDs) are a group of conditions caused by injured or weakened pelvic muscles, ligaments, connective tissues, and nerves that support or hold pelvic organs in place so they can function correctly. Common PFDs are pelvic organ prolapse (POP), urinary incontinence (UI), and faecal incontinence (FI). A preliminary search on the subject within the last decade identified no review protocol or systematic review, despite a significant percentage of women in SSA suffering from it. Methods and analysis: A comprehensive literature search will be gathered from electronic databases such as PubMed, Embase, Hinari, Cochrane Library, African Journals Online (AJOL), and Google Scholar. The protocol followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses for Protocol (PRISMA-P) guideline. All studies conducted in sub-Saharan African countries will be included regardless of their study design as long as these studies report the magnitude of the problem under study. Joanna Briggs Institute’s (JBI) appraisal checklist will be used to assess the quality of individual studies. Heterogeneity will be checked using Cochrane Q test statistics and I2 test statistics, and a random-effects model will be employed to estimate the pooled prevalence of PFDs and its associated factors. Results: The present study will estimate the pooled prevalence of pelvic floor disorders and their associated factors in sub-Saharan Africa countries. Systematic review registration: This review was registered on PROSPERO with registration number CRD42024578550.