Artemisinin based combination therapy for uncomplicated malaria management among children under five in Cameroon: a best practice implementation project

Summary

This evidence implementation project aimed to promote evidence-based use of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) for managing uncomplicated malaria in children under five in the Bali Health District, Cameroon. Using the Joanna Briggs Institute’s PACES and GRiP frameworks, a three-phase approach was adopted: baseline audit, tailored intervention, and follow-up audit. Initial audits revealed poor compliance with WHO-recommended practices, driven by barriers such as limited diagnostic skills, lack of resources, and low community awareness. Interventions included staff training, provision of diagnostic tools, community education, and integration of best practices into local governance. As a result, compliance with evidence-based ACT use significantly improved, rising from 31% to 96.3% over time, and the incidence of complicated malaria dropped by 78% between 2016 and 2019. This project demonstrates that structured, context-sensitive implementation of evidence-based guidelines can lead to substantial improvements in patient outcomes and health system efficiency in resource-limited settings.