Community perceptions towards children living with albinism in Africa: An integrative review

Community perceptions of children with albinism often influence their inclusion, safety and access to education, violating their basic human rights. Children with albinism in Africa encounter social challenges because of myths, superstitions and discrimination because of a lack of knowledge about albinism, making it difficult for the mother who has given birth to a child with albinism.

To synthesise the existing literature on community perceptions of children with albinism in Africa.

An integrative review process was used, which involved five steps to review the literature: problem identification, literature search and data collection, data evaluation, data analysis and presentation of findings. Electronic searches were performed in multiple databases, including EBSCOhost, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Proquest and grey literature.

Community perceptions of children with albinism are embedded within their cultural beliefs and spirituality. Children with albinism continue to be alienated in their communities as their existence is associated with shame, judgement from God or ancestors and superpowers.

Awareness campaigns should be continuous in communities to dispel the myths surrounding albinism. This can be achieved by involving community leaders, religious organisations and organisations that advocate for people with albinism to ensure that our communities create a safe environment for these children.

This review may help understand perceptions of albinism and may assist in developing community-based interventions to support caregivers of children with albinism.