Enhancing Multidisciplinary Approaches to Arthritis Care Training Healthcare Teams in West Africa: A Narrative Review of Competencies, Care Pathways and Implementation Priorities

Bwanbale Geoffrey David

Faculty of Pharmacy Kampala International University Uganda

                                                                                           ABSTRACT
Arthritis includes degenerative, inflammatory, crystal-related and infectious joint diseases that cause pain, disability, income loss and reduced social participation. In West Africa, rheumatology and rehabilitation services are concentrated in cities, leaving primary-care clinicians to manage cases with limited training, diagnostics and referral support. Multidisciplinary team training can improve care by coordinating early recognition, diagnosis, inflammatory arthritis treatment, medicine monitoring, pain management, rehabilitation, joint protection, surgery referral, self-management and social support. Teams may involve clinicians, nurses, pharmacists, therapists, surgeons, counsellors, social workers, diagnostic staff, community health workers and patients, without requiring every profession at every facility. Evidence from Ghana and Nigeria suggests that short courses, task-sharing, telemedicine and multidisciplinary meetings are feasible. Scalable training should combine core and role-specific competencies, case-based learning, supervised practice, mentorship, referral networks and audit, while matching resources. Evaluation should measure clinical outcomes, safety, function, equity, patient experience and cost, supported by national frameworks and regional accreditation.

Keywords: arthritis; rheumatology; multidisciplinary care; interprofessional education; West Africa; rehabilitation; task-sharing; workforce training.

CITE AS: Bwanbale Geoffrey David. (2026). Enhancing Multidisciplinary Approaches to Arthritis Care Training Healthcare Teams in West Africa: A Narrative Review of Competencies, Care Pathways and Implementation Priorities. IDOSR JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 12(2):103-107, 2026.
https://doi.org/10.59298/IDOSR/JST/26/122.103107