Fractures in sub-Saharan Africa: epidemiology, economic impact and ethnography

People are living longer and this brings health risks such as falls and fractures which cause pain, disability and sometimes death. HIV infection increases the risk of fracture and hampers recovery. Fractures are expensive to treat and are a strain on healthcare services. For countries to plan healthcare services they need to understand the scale of the problem, its costs and the available resources.

We will establish the frequency of two key age-related fractures in South Africa, Zimbabwe and The Gambia. The most common fracture is in the spine and the most life challenging is in the hip. We will assess recovery, disability and death rates following hip fracture, identifying factors that improve outcomes. We will calculate current and future health service costs for fractures and talk with patients and healthcare workers about their experiences to understand how future care can be improved.

Greater understanding of fracture care will inform health service policy and planning in Africa.