New scoping review shows SAMRC’s role in advancing tobacco control research in South Africa

Cape Town | Tobacco consumption remains a leading cause of preventable deaths and disease, accounting for the deaths of approximately 8 million people annually across the world. South Africa (SA) is one of the leading countries in tobacco control research in the African region.

A recent scoping review published in the South African Medical Journal summarised research on tobacco control in SA over 44 years (1978 - 2022) intending to identify research gaps and where efforts could be focussed. The study was a collaboration between researchers at the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and the University of Cape Town and was funded by the SAMRC and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation through the African Capacity Building Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies through the University of North Carolina, USA.

Principal investigator Dr Catherine Egbe, Senior Specialist Scientist at the SAMRC’s Mental Health, Alcohol, Substance Use and Tobacco Research Unit (MAST RU), said, “We believe that the findings of this article are important for providing an overview of tobacco control research in SA, showing the gaps and strengths, and possibly indicate the direction this field of research should be focusing on going forward.”

Study findings and implications

The study identified 223 published primary research papers in peer-reviewed journals. The number of published primary research articles by year ranged from 1 in 1978 to 22 in 2022, with most studies (46.2%; n=103) being focused on prevalence, while costing on e-cigarette usage and industry interference received the least attention (0.4%; n=1 each).

About 79% (n=177) of the studies used cross-sectional survey design, followed by randomised controlled trials (3.6%; n=8), time series studies (3.1%; n=7) as well as longitudinal and qualitative studies (2.2%; n=5 each), while costs and benefits analysis (0.4%; n=1) was used much less.

Most studies were published in the South African Medical Journal, followed by the two top international tobacco control journals: Tobacco Control, Nicotine and Tobacco Research. Almost half of the first authors of these publications are based in three institutions: the University of Cape Town (17.0%), SAMRC (16.1%) and the University of Pretoria (13.5%).

The SAMRC was found to be the leading funder of tobacco control research/publications in SA in line with SAMRC’s vision which is to “advance the nation’s health and quality of life and address inequity by conducting and funding relevant and responsive health research, capacity development, innovation and research translation”

“We found a steady increase of tobacco control research in SA over the years, with a sharp increase in the last decade. However, our study found that more mixed-methods studies are needed to better understand the issue of tobacco in the SA context. Also, we need more studies that focus on the impact of policies, nicotine addiction as well as tobacco industry interference. The continued funding of tobacco control research in SA will advance knowledge and inform tobacco control policies in the country”, concluded Dr Egbe.

Full citation: Egbe CO, Dare C, Gwambe S, van Walbeek C. Tobacco control research in South Africa from 1978 to 2022: A scoping review. S Afr Med J. 2024. Nov. 29;114(12):e2360.

Read the full article | HERE

Read more about the SAMRC’s MAST-RU | HERE