The project rolls out combined innovative low-tech thermotherapy with heat packs and WHO recommended wound management in a Buruli ulcer (BU)-endemic district of West Africa. It addresses three key areas of considerable clinical and public health importance in the region: * to better help people managing the disabling disease BU that primarily affects children in West Africa * to implement WHO recommended general wound management for all types of wounds with tools available at the peripheral level of the health care system * to prevent systemic life threatening sequelae (e.g. sepsis and rheumatic fever) and permanent local damage (e.g. motor and sensory disability) by early recognition and treatment of wounds at the community level. The project translates available research findings already validated on the secondary health care level into clinical practice at the periphery (primary health care level). The string of the investigator's previous work from the development of the BU thermotherapy-wound management-package to the proof of its efficacy provides all necessary skills, tools and documents to immediately proceed into practical community application. Operational endpoints are * coverage and quality of WHO recommended wound management training of health care personnel at the primary health care level (health posts); * coverage, success rate and quality of care for patients with BU and other wounds; denominator controlled at health post level and high-quality Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems (HDSS) data. The project is embedded into a stable multidisciplinary working environment at Côte d'Ivoire, including an HDSS with a longstanding record of partnership and successful community-based operational research. The project builds on the principles laid out by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and * targets all patients with a broken down skin barrier independent of the cause (patient centred health care) * brings diagnosis and treatment close to the community * educates and trains both community members and health care workers * measures the health intervention outcome The project is fully in line with the new integrated strategy for the skin NTDs of WHO's Department of Control of NTDs (WHO/NTD).
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AI-rewrites the medical criteria so a patient or caregiver can understand them. Always confirm with the trial site.
Bring these to your next appointment. They're a starting point for a shared conversation — not a sign you qualify or a recommendation to enrol.
Generated to help you prepare — always confirm anything about your own eligibility and care with the study team and your doctor.
The trial coordinator is the person who runs the study day to day. These cover the practical side — logistics, costs, and what taking part would actually mean for your life. The study team confirms whether you meet the criteria; these are questions to ask, not a sign you qualify.
A starting point for the conversation — always confirm anything about your own eligibility, costs, and care with the study team and your doctor.
Prevalence of skin ulcers in inhabitants of the Taabo health district, Ivory Coast
Timeframe: 2 years
Qualitative description of factors determining public health services-based skin ulcer managment
Timeframe: 2 years
Frequency and severity of skin ulcers after community health service intervention
Timeframe: 2 years
Number of patients with healed skin ulcers identified in the survey (see outcome 1)
Timeframe: 2 years
Number of patients presenting at the health posts level with skin ulcers identified in the survey (see above)
Timeframe: 2 years
Quality of care for patients with skin ulcers identified in the survey (see above)
Timeframe: 2 years
Outcome of patients with Buruli ulcers < 2cm and willing to participate in thermotherapy study
Timeframe: 2 years