Patient-centred care measurement in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review of the evidence (1990–2024)

The aim of this scoping review was to explore how patient-centred care (PCC) is being measured in healthcare settings in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and to examine the psychometric performance of reported measurement instruments for PCC. Medline, Web of Science, EMBASE and Global Health databases were searched for articles published from 1990 to 22 September 2024. Search was updated on 30th December 2024. The keywords 'patient-centred care', 'patient experience', 'measurement' and 'psychometric property' were used. Studies were included if they reported on the development, validation, evaluation or psychometric properties of tools used for measuring PCC. Of the 302 articles retrieved, 36, including 31 unique instruments, met the inclusion criteria. Eight instruments were locally developed in SSA. A total of 26 studies were conducted either in South Africa, Nigeria or Ethiopia. Twenty-two studies (60%) were conducted in hospital settings. Psychometric evaluation was either incomplete or not done at all. Locally developed instruments had better psychometric performance compared with instruments developed in the Global North. Although various instruments have been used to measure PCC in SSA, most of them only measure its subcomponents in specific patient populations. Comprehensive measures of PCC, developed and evaluated in SSA for psychometric properties, are needed.