Situational Analysis of Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) in the Management of Typical Clubfoot by Physiotherapists in Cameroon

Abstract 

Clubfoot, also called Congenital Talipes Equinovarus (CTEV), is a common congenitalmusculoskeletal abnormality that impacts the ability to move. It is estimated that 40 to 50 children per million inhabitants are born with clubfoot each year in Cameroon. The Cameroonian Ministry of Public Health and CBC Health Services have collaborated to identify and improve the management of clubfoot. To strengthen the adoption of evidence-based practices and improve patient outcomes, several strategies have been proposed and the Ponseti method has been adopted as the EBP. This study aims to investigate the situational analysis of EBP in the management of typical clubfoot by physiotherapists in Cameroon and to bridge the gap between evidence-based guidelines and their practical applications. A cross-sectional survey was conducted online among 167 practicing physiotherapists in Cameroon over a period from April to June 2024. The instrument or research tool that was used to collect the data is a questionnaire (English/French) aimed at physiotherapists on their knowledge and use of EBP in the management of typical clubfoot on 6 domains (Knowledge and awareness about EBP, Current practices in the management of clubfoot., Identification of challenges and obstacles, Knowledge Gap Assessment and Demographics). The corrected data were analyzed in the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) statistics software version 22. The implementation of EBP on the management of typical club foot is not really effective in practice among physiotherapists in Cameroon, despite everyone’s desire to get involved ardently. The obstacles that hinder or constitute barriers to the implementation of EBP among physiotherapists in Cameroon are the lack of standardized initial training, the lack of time and information and limited resources. Our results could have a positive impact on the quality of training of students and professionals in physiotherapy in Cameroon in terms of clubfoot, calling on the Ministry of Public Health to improve their strategies in the implementation of treatment strategies for clubfoot.

Keywords: Situational analysis, Evidence-based practice (EBP), Typical clubfoot,
Physiotherapists, Cameroon.