There are about 139 clinical studies being (or have been) conducted in Cameroon. The country of the clinical trial is determined by the location of where the clinical research is being studied. Most studies are often held in multiple locations & countries.
According to the WHO, contact tracing - along with robust testing, isolation, and care of cases is a key strategy for interrupting chains of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and reducing mortality associated with COVID-19. Contact tracing, however, has a number of challenges. These include incomplete identification of contacts, inefficiencies in paper-based reporting systems, complex data management requirements, and delays in the identification of contacts and testing of contacts. In many settings, contact tracing has proven to be too resource-intensive to implement at scale, especially with higher levels of community transmission, highlighting the need for more efficient contact tracing approaches. Digital tools afford the possibility of strengthening contact tracing for COVID-19, in a more efficient way. However, there is limited evidence of the effectiveness and impact of these tools in the COVID-19 response, including contact tracing. This study proposes to compare the cascade of care between two strategies for COVID-19 contact tracing of SARS-CoV-2 infected index patients in Cameroon. In one strategy (intervention), the health facilities and health district testing units will implement contact tracing using a digital tool developed to support the tracing and testing of contacts (addition of a digital contact tracing module to the main platform for COVID-19 testing in Cameroon (Mamal Pro app)). This strategy will be compared to the standard contact tracing process (control), based on the current routine approach (use of the Mamal Pro application without the digital contact tracing module).
In many national Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) response plans, including in Kenya and Cameroon, antigen detection tests are being used to improve access for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) testing. Targeting the populations most at risk for COVID-19 disease, including pregnant women, people living with HIV, and patients with tuberculosis (TB), and those who are the most vulnerable to transmission to other populations, can reduce the negative impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Catalyzing COVID-19 Action (CCA) aims to strengthen detection by screening and diagnosing cases of SARS-CoV-2 in MNCH clinics, HIV clinics, and TB clinics and enhancing the management of COVID-positive cases. The main goal of the CCA project is to reduce deaths and severe illnesses caused by COVID-19 through early access to reliable diagnosis and effective treatment through innovative models of care. Both countries will conduct a pre- and post-implementation evaluation to compare screening, testing, care, and treatment of patients undergoing COVID-19 screening, testing, and treatment before and after the integration of facilities taking part in the CCA project.
Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women in sub-Saharan Africa, despite the existence of effective prevention and screening methods. Because vaccination rates against human papillomavirus (causing nearly all cervical cancers) are still insufficient in some low-resource countries, early detection and treatment of cervical lesions at risk of progressing to cancer are crucial components of cervical cancer control. Therefore, it is essential to find the most reliable and appropriate screening strategy in the context of low-resource countries in order to identify women in need of treatment and thus prevent the development of cervical cancer. The objective of our study is to compare two different methods of cervical cancer screening adapted to low-resource settings, in two study centers in Cameroon.
Integration of antigen-detecting rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDT) for COVID-19 into services that provide care for vulnerable populations such as pregnant women, children, people with HIV infection, and patients with tuberculosis (TB) will identify more people with Coronavirus infection. This will allow for earlier treatment and tracing of contacts to decrease the spread of the coronavirus. This study is looking at two models for providing the testing in Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH), Tuberculosis (TB) and HIV clinics in Cameroon and Kenya. In some clinics, attendees with be screened for Coronavirus symptoms and history of exposure and if positive they will receive the rapid coronavirus test right in the clinic. In other facilities, all people attending the clinic with be provided with the coronavirus testing even if they screen negative to see how many people are infected but do not show any symptoms. Hospitalized and non-hospitalized patients with the coronavirus infection will be followed to document their illness and health outcomes. We will also ask health care workers about how well the testing in these clinics is working and what are some of their challenges, and collect information about the costs associated with both the models of testing.
This study is a randomized trial in which participants are assigned to one of 2 strategies of information notice administration which include the standard approach versus a video-based cartoon approach. An information notice about the study will be administered to each participant individually. The study involves the integration of tuberculosis screening at all pediatric entry points, and other activities aimed at improving pediatric tuberculosis diagnosis and management. The understanding of participants will be assessed using a test of understanding adapted from the Quality of Informed consent (QIC).
The aim of this study is to assess knowledge, beliefs and attitudes of parents to young girls aged 9 to 14 years about HPV vaccines within some rural communities in the North West Region of Cameroon served by three hospitals in that area. To do this, we will conduct in-depth qualitative interviews with purposively sampled parents of girls aged 9 to 14 years, some of whom received HPV vaccine and some of whom did not. Interviews will continue until thematic saturation is reached (We anticipate a total 40 interviews). Data analysis will be done concurrently with interviews using thematic analysis.
The overall objective of this research is to understand the PHC landscape in conflict-affected settings including choice of PHC delivery models and quality interventions used by humanitarian organisations
A quasi-experimental and comparative study will be conducted in two different geographical areas (Europe-France and Africa-Cameroon) on a period of 18 months. All eligible adults aged 50 years and older presenting to one of the investigative centers (for HIV care) will be included in the study. The patients will be randomized in two parallel groups according to the 1:1 ratio, namely a control group A where patients continue the usual HIV management, and an intervention group B where in addition to the usual HIV management, patients will benefit from an adapted physical activity (APA) program for three months. An evaluation of heart rate variability, response to current treatment, gut microbiota profile and quality of life will be performed at the end of the APA session. Comparison between control group A and intervention group B will be performed. The acceptability of this program will also be evaluated.
This study seeks to determine which Loa loa antigens are released into circulation when infected individuals are treated with ivermectin.
Although Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax), one of the five malaria species causing parasites, has the widest geographical distribution, it is rare in sub-Saharan Africa due to the absence of a red blood cell receptor (Duffy antigen) in black Africans. Duffy-negative individuals are, for the most part, therefore refractory to P. vivax infection and the Duffy-negative phenotype is found at highest frequencies in Africa, whereas it is relatively rare elsewhere. P. vivax has however, been observed as single infections in up to 5% of Duffy-negative febrile patients in one health facility in Dschang, a region of low malaria transmission in Western highlands of Cameroon. Whereas in the littoral South West and Southern forest of Cameroon characterised by high malaria transmission, areas, there are contrasting molecular evidence of human P. vivax infection. While important, the significance is limited from an epidemiological point of view, concerning the source, transmission, distribution range of P. vivax. There is thus a challenge in the true estimation of malaria burden, as well as the attributable parasite species in infections occurring in the low transmission areas of Western Cameroon. As a consequence, our understanding of the local epidemiology of malaria in Western Cameroon warrants formal investigation. The current proposal is a multi-centre observational study. Its purpose is to characterise the malaria species composition and particularly exposure and burden of P. vivax across malaria endemic settings in Cameroon. It will use multiplex serological methods based on quantitative suspension array on finger-stick blood samples collected from febrile patients of ages 1-100 during two malaria transmission seasons in different eco-climatic regions in Cameroon.